Pictured Above: Freshman guard
Jonathan Norfleet (Photo by Adrienne Terzuoli)
Box Score
Post-Game Press Conference
Staten Island, NY – Freshman guard
Jonathan Norfleet scored a career-high 14 points in matching redshirt sophomore guard
Chase Freeman for game-high scoring honors but it wasn't enough to offset a 23-point outing from Bryant's SaBastian Townes as the Bulldogs withstood a late Seahawk rally in recording a 71-64 win on Thursday.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 9-11 on the season, 4-5 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while Bryant improves to 8-12 on the year, 5-4 in conference.
Townes, a 6-5, 260-pound power forward, scored 11 of the Bulldogs' first 13 points of the game during a defensive-minded, halfcourt opening half that saw Bryant build a 31-29 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 7-2 burst in the first three minutes of the second half in building a 38-31 lead. Bryant eventually built a 13-point advantage at 51-38 following a Patrick Harding layup with 11:24 left to play.
Following an exchange of baskets, the lead was again at 13 points, 58-45, with 3:33 to play following a baseline jumper by Townes. Wagner then ran off nine unanswered points on a Norfleet three-pointer, followed by consecutive layups from redshirt senior guard
Romone Saunders, junior forward
Chance Anderson and senior guard
Elijah Davis, the latter coming a fast-break bucket following a wild scramble for the ball that made it 58-54 with 2:17 remaining.
This is as close as the Seahawks would get, however, as Bryant answered with an Adam Grant layup, followed by another Townes jumper, this one coming at 1:36 left, that made it a 62-54 game and the Bulldogs were able to hang on from there.
Saunders was the third Seahawk to hit for double figures, finishing with 13 points in recording his 19th consecutive double-digit scoring game. Saunders, who is 25th on the all-time Wagner career scoring list, is now up to 1,200 career points, 16 behind Tyler Murray, who is in 24th place with 1,216 points.
For Bryant, Grant and Bryan Hawkins joined Townes in double-digits with 16 points apiece.
