Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team defeated Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) member Penn State Fayette by a score of 83-52 on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 7-5 on the 2024-25 season, while Penn State Fayette drops to 3-9 on its season.
Wagner jumped out to a 13-2 lead throughout the first six minutes of the game. The Nittany Lions would hit three three-point field goals over the next two minutes of gametime to close the gap to just two with 12:36 remaining in the first half.
The Green & White responded with their own 11-5 run to lead 24-16 midway through the opening half. After trading buckets for the remainder of the frame, the Seahawks held a 34-31 advantage heading into the break.
Wagner used a balanced scoring attack in the first half as eight out of the nine Seahawks who touched the floor scored a basket, including redshirt senior Churchill Bounds who scored his first six points of the season.
At the half, graduate student Ja'Kair Sanchez and senior Tyje Kelton led Wagner's offense with seven and six points respectively.Â
Penn State Fayette produced a shooting clip of 7-15 from beyond-the-arc in the first half, while Wagner dominated in points in the paint, outsourcing that of Penn State Fayette, 18-8.
Penn State Fayette outscored Wagner in fast break points, 7-2, in the first while the Seahawks outscored the Nittany Lions 5-0 in second chance points.
In the second half, the Green & White poured on 49 points thanks to an efficient 64.5% shooting percentage from the field. Concurrently, Wagner allowed only 21 points to the Nittany Lions to prevail 83-52.
Senior Zaire Williams scored a season-high 20 points with 15 coming in the second half. The Brooklyn native shot 5-7 from three-point territory during the frame, finishing with a shooting clip of 7-11 from the field.
Junior R.J. Greene recorded his first double-double as a Seahawk, and seventh of his collegiate career. The Northeast Conference (NEC) rebound leader a season ago corralled a season-high 13 rebounds to go along with 13 points on 6-9 from the field.Â
Sanchez would finish third in scoring for Wagner with 11 points.Â
Senior guard Javier Ezquerra dished out a career-high 11 assists with seven points and four rebounds to help the Seahawks grab their seventh win of the season. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native eclipsed double-digit assists for the third in his collegiate career, and second time during the 2024-25 campaign.
As a team, Wagner outscored Penn State Fayette 46-12 in points in the paint while outpacing the Nittany Lions 17-0 in fast break points.
Junior Keyontae Lewis and freshman Zavier Fitch each added eight points, Kelton finished with six along with Bounds. Senior Di'Andre Howell-South rounded out the scorers for Wagner with four points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Next up, the Green & White will be back in action on Monday, December 23 at the Spiro Sports Center to take on Penn State Scranton. Tip-off is set for noon.
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