Photo by David Sinclair
Emmitsburg, MD – Senior
Alex Morales hit two game-winning free throws with 5.1 seconds left to lift the Wagner men's basketball team to its seventh straight victory, as the Seahawks earned a hard-fought 57-55 win over Mount St. Mary's to earn the series sweep over the Mountaineers on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 8-4 in Northeast Conference play and are now tied for first place in the conference, while the Mount Falls to 7-6 in league play.
Morales led all scorers with 20 points, as the reigning NEC Co-Player of the Week picked up his sixth 20-point game in his last nine games, while also grabbing a team-high six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Seniors
Elijah Ford and
Will Martinez were the other two Seahawks in double figures, contributing 15 and 11 points, respectively.
With the game tied at 51-51 with under two minutes to play, Ford hit his first three of the season with the shot clock winding down, giving the Seahawks a three-point advantage.
After Mount's Damian Chong Qui hit two free throws, Ford hit one of two at the charity stripe, before Chong Qui tied the game at 55-55 on a jumper with 13 seconds to go.
With no timeouts remaining, Morales drew the foul with 5.1 seconds remaining and stayed calm at the line, making both free throws and sending the Seahawks home victorious.
In a close first half, Ford scored Wagner's first nine points of the game, with Morales scoring the Seahawks' next 13 points and Martinez contributing the Green and White's next six, as Wagner led 30-25 at the midway mark.
A 9-0 run early in the second half gave the Seahawks their biggest lead of the contest, as a three by freshman
Elijah Allen made it 41-29 with 15:05 to play.
The Mountaineers fought their way back into the game and had a chance to tie the game late despite only leading for 28 seconds throughout the entirety of the contest.
The Seahawks were outrebounded 32-25 on the night, but managed to outscore the Mountaineers 32-25 in the paint while holding the lead for 36:41 minutes of tonight's contest after not trailing once in yesterday's win.
Next up, Wagner is scheduled to return to the Spiro Sports Center to take on Saint Francis U on Saturday (2/20) and Sunday (2/21). Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
