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Brooklyn Heights, NY - Wagner freshman guard
Blake Francis (Herndon, VA / Westfield) tossed in 17 points to lead four players in doubles figures as the Seahawks recorded a 73-55 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory over St. Francis Brooklyn at the Pope Physical Education Center this afternoon.
The Green & White have now won five of their last six games in continuing a late-season push that improves their NEC record to 10-6 and keeps them in a three-way tie for third place in the NEC standings with just two regular season games remaining. The top four teams will earn home games in next month's NEC Tournament. The victory also improves the Seahawks' record to 14-12 overall on the season while the Terriers saw their season mark fall to 4-25 and are now 2-14 in league play.
Francis' 17-point effort, follows his career-high 20-point outing in Thursday's 69-64 victory over Mount St. Mary's, came on 6-of-9 shooting which included 3-of-5 marksmanship from three-point range. Junior guards
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD / DeMatha Catholic) added 15 points,
JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord) tallied 12 of his 14 points in the first half while redshirt senior forward
Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan / Rhode Island) added 11 points and eight rebounds. Wagner received a welcomed burst of energy off the bench from sophomore guard
Devin Liggeons (Philadelphia, PA / Imhotep Charter) who pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go with his six-point outing.
Staten Island native Glenn Sanabria was the lone Terrier to reach double figures, finishing with 12 points, as Wagner's smothering defense held St. Francis to 31.6 percent shooting. Robert Montgomery added eight points for St. Francis, while Rasheem Dunn and Jahmel Bodrick chipped in with seven apiece.
Both teams traded baskets over the first 4:40 minutes of the game as the contest was knotted at seven apiece as the teams combined to shoot 6-of-11. The Seahawks then erupted on a 10-0 run that brought the lead to 17-7, shooting 3-of-5 while holding the Terriers without a field goal in nine attempts over the four-minute stretch.
After SFBK's Montgomery had hit a three-pointer at the 11:05 mark, both teams scored evenly over the final 10:51, as Wagner headed to the break with a 42-32 lead. Cooper led all scorers with 12 points in the opening frame as the Seahawks began to impose their will on the Terriers, evidenced by a 27-12 advantage on the boards. Wagner was in control of the game virtually throughout, holding the lead for more than 38 minutes as that early 7-7 score was the game's only tie.Wagner, which shot 45.5 percent from the floor, held a commanding 51-33 edge in the rebounding department, marking the 20th time in 26 games that the Seahawks have outrebounded their opponents. Entering the game ranked 16th nationally in rebounding margin at +7.6, the win gives the Seahawks a sweep of the regular season series as Wagner earned a 66-64 home victory over the Terriers on January 28 at the Spiro Sports Center.
The final two games of the 2016-17 regular will be contested at the Spiro Sports as the Seahawks host the Bryant University Bulldogs on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm with the regular season finale set for February 25 against LIU Brooklyn at 4:00 pm. Saturday will be Senior Day as the Seahawks will honor their three upperclassmen:
Mike Aaman; Mike Carey and
Greg Senat in a pregame ceremony. Both games can be seen live on NEC Front Row with Joey Wahler on the call courtside.
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