Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team fell to 1-3 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play with a 69-65 loss to conference newcomer Mercyhurst on Saturday.

The Seahawks record falters to 9-8 overall as the Lakers improved to 8-12, with a 2-3 mark in NEC play.

 Wagner held a 30-22 lead at the halftime break. Senior Zaire Williams and junior R.J. Greene led the Seahawks with eight and seven, respectively. 

The Seahawks held the lead or were tied with the Lakers throughout the entirety of the first half.

The Lakers outpaced the Seahawks, 7-0, in fast break points and outscored Wagner 12-4 in points off of turnovers.

However, an efficient 52.6% from the field helped the Green & White head into the break with an eight point lead. Wagner also shot 50% from beyond-the-arc and 88.9% from the charity stripe during the first 20 minutes of action.

Senior forward Aidan Recihert led Mercyhurst with 11 first half points on 5-9 from the floor.

In the second half, Mercyhurst would flip-the-script by shooting 12-19 from the floor, good for 63.,2% success rate, including 5-9 from three-point range for 55.6%, and 18-21 from the foul line for 85.7%.

The Seahawks would shoot 8-24 from the field in the second half for 33.3% and 2-11 from three-point range for 18.2%.

Greene stayed aggressive, taking nine free throws in the second half and 14 throughout the game. The transfer from LIU would end up leading Wagner in scoring, finishing with 17 points on three makes from the floor and eleven made free throws.

Williams and graduate student Zae Blake chipped in seven points each in the second.

Individually, Williams followed Greene in the scoring column, finishing with 15 points. Blake finished with seven. Freshman Zavier Fitch and junior Keyontae Lewis added six points each.

The Seahawks would outscore the Lakers, 14-4 in second chance points.

However, Mercyhurst would ride a 47-35 second half to its second league win of the season.

Next up, Wagner will host Saint Francis U at the Spiro Sports Center on Monday, January 20.  Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm.