Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College men's basketball team extended its win streak to six games with an 81-76 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn in a hard-fought battle on Saturday at the Spiro Sports Center.
After the Terriers cut their deficit to one with 2:05 to play on a three-pointer by Rob Higgins that made it 73-72, Wagner took a two-possession lead on a traditional three-point play by redshirt-senior
Raekwon Rogers, who led all scorers with 22 points on 8-12 shooting.
Rogers hit another layup one minute later to make it 78-74 with 45 seconds to play, while a huge block by graduate student
Elijah Ford on the ensuing position sealed the game for the Seahawks, who remain undefeated in both Northeast Conference (NEC) play and at home at 5-0 on the season.
Ford contributed 16 points and a team-leading eight rebounds on the day, including a highlight-reel windmill dunk for the play of the day midway through the second half. Fellow graduate student
Will Martinez was the third Seahawk in double figures with 18 points.
The Seahawks outscored the Terriers 60-30 in the paint and earned the win despite not hitting a single three-pointer throughout the contest.
After St. Francis jumped out to a double-digit lead with 6:51 to play in the first half, the Seahawks used an 8-0 run to take a 28-26 lead on a Martinez layup with 2:11 to play in the first half.
With time expiring in the first half, freshman
Javier Ezquerra beat the buzzer to give Wagner a 34-31 advantage at the midway mark.
The Seahawks led for more than 18 minutes of the second half and a pair of free throws by sophomore
DeLonnie Hunt gave Wagner its biggest lead of the game at 69-58 with 4:56 to play.
The Terriers fought their way back into the game, but their late push was denied as Wagner came away victorious.
Wagner had a 33-24 advantage on the glass and shot 33-58 (56.9%) from the field while holding the Terriers to 27-55 (49.1%) throughout the contest.
Up next, the Seahawks will close out their home stand against Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, January 17, with tip-off set for 7:00 pm.
