Charlotte, NC - The Wagner men's basketball fell to #1-seed North Carolina, 90-62, in Thursday's First Round matchup of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center.
Sophomore Julian Brown and junior Melvin Council Jr. led the Seahawks with 18 points apiece. Sophomore Keyontae Lewis joined the duo in double figures 13 points on 6-for-8 efficiency.
The Seahawks hung around with the Tar Heels, but could never break through. Brown's second three of the game tied it at 13, but North Carolina pieced together an 18-8 run just prior to the eight-minute media timeout that separated itself from the upset-minded Seahawks.
Wagner cut its deficit to seven on a lay-in by Lewis with 4:02 remaining in the half. However, UNC's late first half run gave the Tar Heels a 40-28 halftime lead.
Council led the way with ten first half points, while Lewis supplied eight.
Following the break, UNC extended its lead, but consecutive threes by Brown and junior Tyje Kelton pushed it back to a 12-point game at 54-42.
The differential stayed at 12 after a traditional three-point by freshman Seck Zongo, but the Tar Heels pulled away to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wagner's season concludes with the Seahawks' second-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) title and first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
