Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College men's basketball dropped its Northeast Conference (NEC) home opener by a score of 81-74 on Saturday evening in a game that was televised on SNY.
With the loss, Wagner falls to 4-9 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, while the Pioneers also even their conference mark at 1-1 while improving to 8-7 on the year.
Three Seahawks scored in double figures, led by sophomore
Tyrone Nesby IV, who scored 16 points, while juniors
Alex Morales and
Nigel Jackson contributed 14 points apiece.
Wagner got off to a hot start, as a pair of free throws by Morales, a three by Nesby and a basket by Cobb helped the Seahawks build an 11-5 lead with 15.56 to play in the first, which proved to be Wagner's biggest run and largest lead of the game.
From there, both teams went back and forth, as the game featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties.
After a Freeman three tied the contest with 23 seconds to play in the first half, the Pioneers took a 39-37 lead into the halftime locker room on a pair of free throws by E.J. Anosike.
The two teams battled early in the second half, as a deep three by Jackson gave the Seahawks a 59-58 lead with 9:47 to play and sent the crowd at the Spiro Sports Center into a frenzy.
Following a timeout, the Pioneers took the lead and never looked back, using a 52.4% (22-42) shooting night to pull away. A pair of free throws by Cobb with 1:33 to play made it a one possession game at 73-71, but a three by Tyler Thomas with 1:13 remaining put the game away for good as Sacred Heart held on for the 81-74 win.
Graduate student
Patrick Szpir led Wagner with six rebounds, with Sacred Heart holding a 33-25 overall advantage on the glass.
Next up, the Seahawks will take the road to Western Pennsylvania to take on Saint Francis U on Thursday night, before traveling to Robert Morris on Saturday, January 11.
