Erie, PA - The Wagner College men's basketball team fell to 2-4 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play with a 71-66 loss to the Mercyhurst Lakers on Owen McCormick Court on Friday night.

With the loss, the Seahawks drop to 10-9 on the 2024-25 season, while the Lakers improve to 9-13 with a 3-4 mark in conference action.

In the first half, Mercyhurst benefitted from Wagner's six turnovers compared to the Lakers' three. Mercyhurst outscored Wagner in points off turnovers 16-7 during the opening frame.

The two teams traded runs of their own, Wagner landed the first punch with a 12-2 run to make it a 29-21 with 5:04 left in the opening half. Mercyhurst would respond with a 12-0 run to regain the lead, 33-29, with just over two minutes remaining.

At the break, Mercyhurst held a six point lead, 37-31.

The Seahawks' bench outscored that of the Lakers' in the first half, 18-7, thanks in part to eight first half points from graduate student Zae Blake and seven from R.J. Greene. Freshman Zavier Fitch and senior Zaire Williams led the Wagner starters with four first half points each.

With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Lakers held a 54-44 lead. Wagner would chip away at Mercyhurst's lead to eventually tie the game at 58 with a senior Javier Ezquerra three-point basket with two minutes to go.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Mercyhurst would put the game out of reach, as the Seahawks would fall in both meetings to the Lakers during their 2024-25 campaign.

In the end, Mercyhurst would prevail, 71-66.

Mercyhurst shot 13-15 from the free throw line in the second compared to Wagner's 5-11 success rate from the charity stripe.

Blake led all Seahawks with 18 points, including 10 in the second half alone. Williams followed with 13, Greene and Ezquerra both added nine, Fitch and senior Tyje Kelton chipped in six.

Junior Keyontae Lewis scored three points and grabbed 10 rebounds - this is Lewis' second consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds after grabbing 12 against Saint Francis U on Monday. Graduate student Ja'Kair Sanchez scored two points to round out the scoring column for the Green & White.

Next up, Wagner will travel southeast to Loretto, PA for a matchup with Saint Francis U on Sunday, January 26. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm inside DeGol Arena.