Loretto, PA – Redshirt senior forward
Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan / Rhode Island) hit what proved to be the game-winning layup with 2.5 seconds remaining in overtime to cap a career-high 26-point, 13-rebound effort as the Wagner men's basketball won its fourth straight game, earning a hard-fought 76-74 road win tonight against the Saint Francis U Red Flash at DeGol Arena.
The win splits the regular season meetings between the two schools as the Seahawks improve to 12-11 overall and, more importantly, are now 8-5 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play and in a three-way tie for third place, as their quest to secure a top-four finish and first-round league tournament home game continues. With the loss, SFU is now one of those three teams tied with Wagner at 8-5, along with LIU Brooklyn, who defeated Bryant, 88-85 in overtime on the road tonight,
Aaman's career night in which he notched his sixth career double-double, led four players in double figures, as junior guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD / DeMatha Catholic) finished with 13 points while senior guard
Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas / Lamar Consolidated / San Jacinto) and junior guard
JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE / Concord) added 12 points apiece. Carey also pulled down ten rebounds on the night in recording his eighth double-double of the season and 23rd of his two-year Seahawk career.
Josh Nebo led four in double-digits for SFU, finishing with a team-high 15 points and 15 rebounds. Jamaal King added 13, while Keith Braxton and Randall Gaskins, Jr. hit for 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The game went into an extra session when King converted on three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt by freshman
Connor Ferrell (Conyers, GA/Rockdale County [DME Sports Academy]). A minute into the overtime period, Ferrell redeemed himself, hitting a tremendous, off-balance three. The Red Flash trimmed the Wagner lead to one, 68-67, as Braxton was able to find a clear path to the goal. SFU was able to regain the lead as King went coast-to-coast on a steal-and-layup bucket with 3:01 left. A freebie from Henson at the line followed by a Cooper three-pointer with ninety seconds gave the Green & White a three-point edge, 72-69.
The Red Flash answered right back with a straight away, top-of-the-key trifecta from Blackmon with 1:12 showing on the clock before Henson fired back with a go-ahead jumper. A layup by Nebo tied the game at 74 with just 27 seconds remaining. The Seahawks were able to get the ball into the hands of the 6-8, lefty forward and he used every inch to spin towards the baseline and put in the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds to go. Saint Francis had one more chance as King got the inbounds pass and fired up the last chance heave that bounced off the side of the rim as the Seahawks earned their fourth-straight victory.
Wagner dominated early in the contest with eight straight points coming from Aaman as the Seahawks held SFU without a field goal for over three minutes before the Red Flash erupted on a 17-7 run of its own, taking a 17-15 lead as Braxton and Georgios Angelou combined to score 11 of the 17 points while holding the Seahawks to three made baskets over a 6:30 minute stretch. Henson's jumper at the 9:45 mark stopped the Red Flash run and knotted the game at 17.
From there, the Seahawks went on a 12-5 run to take a seven-point lead, 29-22, as Henson's baseline jumper was the final shot of the run. Saint Francis closed out the stanza, outscoring Wagner, 9-6, but the Seahawks entered the break with a 35-31 lead. Aaman's 16 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor while dominating the boards, with eight caroms in the opening half of play.
The Red Flash opened the second half on a 7-0 run, capped by a Nebo free throw, in taking a 38-35 lead with 16:42 left to play. Wagner fought back to take the lead, and when Aaman hit a layup with 6:55 left, the Seahawks had their biggest lead of the game of eight at 55-47. SFU then answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Gaskins old-fashioned three-point play, in taking a 56-55 lead with 4:01 to go.
At this point, it was anybody's game and in the waning moments of regulation, the Seahawks appeared to have the upper hand, taking a 65-62 lead after Cooper made 1-of-2 free throws with 27 seconds left in regulation. With 17 seconds left, Braxton chased down an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer by Gaskins and was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
Braxton calmly sank all three free throws to tie the game at 65-65. Following an SFU timeout, Wagner worked the ball the length of the court and into the hands of Henson who had a good look from three-point range to the left of the circle, but the potential game-winner with four seconds left bounded off the front of the rim as the game went into overtime deadlocked at 65.
For the game, Wagner shot 44.3 percent from the field while winning the battle-the-boards at 42-36. SFU dominated the paint at 45-34 while the Seahawks were able to convert 24 points on second chance opportunities.
The Seahawks conclude their lengthy four-game, three-state road trip on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Moon Township, PA to take on the Robert Morris University Colonials at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
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