Pictured Above: Romone Saunders (photo by Dave Saffran)

Box Score

Lowell, MA – The Wagner men's basketball team dropped a tough 88-84 overtime decision at UMass Lowell on Saturday in a wild back-and-forth game of runs that featured eight ties and 14 lead changes at a frenzied Costello Athletic Center on Saturday.

With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 0-2 on the young season while the River Hawks even their mark at 1-1.

Redshirt senior guard Romone Saunders paced the Green & White with 20 points to lead five players in double figures. Fellow redshirt senior AJ Sumbry, finished with a double-double, tossing in 16 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. The 6-8 Sumbry's 16-point effort came on the heels of a team-high 12-point output in Tuesday's season opener at Seton Hall.

Other double-digit scorers for the Seahawks included sophomore Nigel Jackson, who had 15, highlighted by 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, along with senior guard Devin Liggeons and Elijah Davis who netted 12 and 10 points, respectively.

After following into a 16-6 hole, the Seahawks roared back with a 24-13 run over the next nine minutes in taking the lead at 30-29, on a Liggeons jump shot with less than four minutes to play before intermission.

The rest of the opening half as an even affair as Wagner took a 36-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.

After a three-pointer by Jackson one minute into the second half extended the Seahawk lead to 41-36, the River Hawks embarked on a 13-7 tear in regaining the lead at 49-48 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Darius Henderson.

At this point it was time for Wagner to go on a run as a Liggeons three-pointer ignited a 13-2 Seahawk spurt, with all of the other 10 points in the run coming from Saunders, in building its biggest lead of the game at 61-51 with 9:15 to go.

In this uncanny game of runs, UMass Lowell reversed course and went on an 11-0 binge over the next three minutes, capped by a Noel Obadiah layup with 6:26 remaining.

The lead would change hands six more times down the stretch, with a late Sumbry layup giving the Seahawks a 73-70 advantage. The River Hawks responded with a bucket from by Noel, followed by a 1-of-2 trip to the line by Christian Lutete which tied the game at 73-73, forcing overtime.

Lutete then opened OT by draining a three-pointer which gave UMass Lowell the lead for good.

Wagner would get to within one point on two occasions, the first on a clutch three-pointer by freshman guard Tyrone Nesby IV that made it 83-82 with 1:14 left. Then, with under 30 seconds to play, Saunders hit a driving layup to make it 85-84. UMass Lowell then knocked down its last three free throws in hanging on for the 88-84 win.

Obadiah paced the home team with 17 points, Alex Rivera added 14, while Lutete and Josh Gantz added 13 apiece.

UMass Lowell held a 47.6%-40% edge in shooting and narrowly won the battle of the board by a 43-42 count.

The all-time series between UMass Lowell and Wagner is now tied, 2-2.

The Seahawks return to Grymes Hill to face Division III SUNY-Cortland on Tuesday, November 13 in a 7:00 p.m. tip.

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