New Britain, CT – The Wagner College men's basketball team earned a spot in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship game with a 66-56 victory at CCSU on Saturday afternoon.
The Seahawks will take on #2 Merrimack on Tuesday with a chance to win the NEC title and represent the league at the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's victory marks Wagner's second-ever victory over a #1 seed in the NEC tournament. The Seahawks are now 5-0 all-time against CCSU in the NEC Tournament.
The Seahawks won their lone NEC championship in 2003, and reached the NEC final in 1993 (losing to Rider), 2005 (losing to FDU), 2016 (losing to FDU), 2018 (losing to LIU), and 2022 (losing to Bryant).
On Saturday, the Seahawks were led by sophomore
Julian Brown's 20 points, while junior
Melvin Council Jr. and sophomore
Keyontae Lewis added 12 points apiece. Junior
Tahron Allen was the fourth Seahawk in double figures with 11 points.
Wagner led for 32:48 minutes of the contest and got off to a fast start, as Lewis scored 10 of his 12 points in the game's first six minutes.
Up 28-23 at halftime, the Seahawks battled foul trouble. Lewis and Council fouled out throughout the second half, leaving Wagner with just five players for the final minutes of the contest.
The Blue Devils tied the game at 39-39 with 9:06 to play, but never took the lead, as back-to-back buckets by Council extended the Wagner lead to 52-45 with 2:57 to play. A clutch basket by junior
Javier Ezquerra with 2:23 to play put Wagner up six at 54-48, with Wagner staying calm at the line late to earn the victory.
Wagner limited CCSU to just 36.2% (21-58) shooting from the floor, while holding a 41-34 advantage on the class.
Tuesday's final between the Seahawks and Warriors will air live on ESPN2 at 7:00 pm.
