Pictured Above: Senior guard Devin Liggeons (photo by SJU Athletics)
Philadelphia, PA – Redshirt senior guard
Romone Saunders led three players in double figures with 15 points and the Wagner men's basketball team battled Saint Joseph's University of the Atlantic 10 Conference to the wire before the Hawks held on for a 59-57 win on Saturday at Hagan Arena.
With the hard-fought defeat, the Seahawks conclude their non-conference schedule with a record of 5-6 while SJU improves to 7-5. The nip-and-tuck battle which came down to the game's final possession was close and competitive throughout, one that featured 10 ties and six lead changes.
After Saint Joe's opened a 12-4 lead at the outset, the Seahawks fought right back with a 7-0 run that triggered a larger 16-4 spurt, which allowed Wagner to build a 20-14 lead. Fifteen of the 16 points in the run came via the three-ball as Wagner buried five treys over a five-minute span, two apiece by senior guard
Devin Liggeons and sophomore guard
Chase Freeman, while freshman guard
Jonathan Norfleet capped the run with a three-pointer.
SJU clawed back to tie the game at 20-20 and 23-23 before the Seahawks outscored the Hawks 5-2 over the final 2:28 before intermission in seizing that 28-25 halftime lead, with the five Seahawk points coming on a Saunders three-pointer, followed by a 15-foot jumper by sophomore forward
Nigel Jackson.
The second half featured more of the same give and take. A three-pointer by SJU's Taylor Funk forged the game's 10
th and final tie, at 46-46, and served to ignite a 13-7 Hawk run that seemingly put the home team in control at 59-52 with 4:58 left. The Seahawks, however, had other ideas as the three by Funk proved to be the final points of the game for Saint Joe's.
With the crowd at its loudest, Wagner dug in on the defensive end. After redshirt senior forward
AJ Sumbry went 1-of-2 at the line to make it 59-53, Norfleet came up with a steal at midcourt that led to his own fastbreak layup which drew Wagner to within 59-55 at the 2:26 mark.
The Seahawks then came up with another big defensive stop before converting on the other end, as Saunders knocked down a jumper in the lane with 52 seconds remaining to make it a 59-57 game. Following yet another Seahawk stop, Wagner had a chance to tie it but a Sumbry foul line jumper was off the mark with 36 seconds left.
On its final possession of the game, SJU worked the clock all the way down to three seconds when leading scorer Charlie Brown misfired on a three-pointer. Senior guard
Elijah Davis was able to corral the rebound and push the ball into the front court but the Seahawks were unable to get off one last shot as Saint Joseph's held on for the 59-57 win.
"We ran out of time," said Wagner seventh-year head coach
Bashir Mason afterwards. "That's a great college basketball game and we came up just on the short end of it. We were right there, going battle for battle with them, and we came up just a little bit short. But I'm proud of our guys' effort and our fight. These guys are getting better right in front of my eyes. So, that's a positive to walk away with."
In addition to Saunders, Wagner's other double-digit scorers were Davis and sophomore forward
Nigel Jackson, who finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Liggeons, a Philadelphia native, made his presence felt in his hometown, tossing in six points to go along with seven rebounds.
"This is a two-point loss to an Atlantic 10 program and it feels like we lost a championship game," said Mason. "We prepared to win this game for us, but more importantly, for
Devin Liggeons here in his home city. He's been the ultimate student-athlete for us for four years, on and off the floor. We really wanted this one for him and I felt really bad that we weren't able to pull it out."
Sumbry and Norfleet each chipped in with five points during the gallant Seahawk effort.
The top rebounding and defensive team in the Northeast Conference (NEC), Wagner was able to impose its will on the bigger Hawks in both of these categories, holding a 39-31 edge on the board while limiting SJU to 41.7 percent shooting.
Brown led all scorer for SJU with 17 points, while Lamarr Kimble and Funk added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Green & White begin Northeast Conference (NEC) play on Tuesday, January 3 when Wagner travels to New Britain, CT to meet Central Connecticut, with tip-off between the Seahawks and the Blue Devils set for 7:00 p.m.
NOTES: With his 15 points tonight, Saunders moves up to 1,031 for his career and into 40
th-place all-time, just 19 shy of the 39
th spot currently held by Kenneth Ortiz (2011-2014), who tallied 1,050 career points.
38. Nigel Wyatte (2000-04)..................... 1,060
39. Kenneth Ortiz (2011-2014)............... 1,050
43. Romone Saunders (2014-pres.)…….. 1,031
The 11 made three-pointers by Wagner this afternoon are one shy of the Seahawks' season best of 12 which came vs. Rider back on November 24.
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