Philadelphia, PA – The Wagner College men's basketball trailed 57-42 with 7:38 to play, but fought back to force overtime before earning a 76-73 overtime win over Temple in the season-opener for both teams.
The victory marked the first win under new head coach
Donald Copeland.
After the Owls extended their lead to 65-54 with 3:31 to play, a 10-2 Wagner run cut the Temple lead down to three at 67-64, with graduate student
Jahbril Price-Noel and senior
Brandon Brown combining to score all ten points during the run.
With 35 seconds to play, junior
Rahmir Moore's jumper made it 69-66, before a clutch Price-Noel three with three seconds to play forced overtime at 69-69.
In the extra period, sophomore
Rob Taylor II and Moore gave Wagner the early advantage and the Seahawks never looked back, outscoring the Owls 7-4 to earn the victory.
"They just battled…battled, scratched and stayed in it," Copeland said. "We talked about what the second half was going to be and they fought through. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of them."
Junior
DeLonnie Hunt led Wagner with 19 points, with sophomore
Zaire Williams contributing 16 and Moore adding 13 points in the win.
Brandon Brown led Wagner with 11 rebounds, as the Seahawks held a 37-35 advantage on the glass.
Wagner shot 27-64 (42.2%) throughout the game while holding Temple to 21-54 (38.6%) shooting from the floor.
The game featured nine ties and five lead changes.
Next up, Wagner will return to Philadelphia on Saturday for a 3:00 pm matchup at La Salle.
