BRONX, N.Y. — The Wagner College men's basketball team came up just short in a tightly contested road matchup on Tuesday night, falling 63–61 to Fordham at Rose Hill Gym.
Wagner (0–3, 0–0 NEC) came out strong, jumping to a 9–2 lead behind back-to-back buckets from junior
Michael Cooper and a fast-break dunk by junior
Nick Jones. The Seahawks extended their advantage to as many as eight midway through the first half before Fordham (2–1, 0–0 Atlantic 10) closed the frame on a late surge. Wagner maintained composure, however, and carried a 31–26 lead into halftime.
Fordham opened the second half on a 13–2 run to take its first lead since the early minutes, but the Seahawks responded with timely three-point shooting to stay close. Junior
Eddie Placer knocked down four second-half triples — including a go-ahead three with 6:43 remaining to make it 54–51 — as Wagner continued to battle.
The teams traded scores down the stretch, and with 34 seconds left, Placer buried his sixth three-pointer of the night to tie the game at 61. With five seconds remaining, the Rams hit a mid-range jumper to move back in front, 63–61. A final three-point attempt from Wagner at the buzzer came up just short, sealing the narrow defeat.
Placer led Wagner with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Jones added 15 points, while Cooper contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
As a team, the Seahawks shot 41 percent from three-point range (12-of-29) compared to Fordham's 28 percent (4-of-14) and finished with a 39–34 advantage on the boards. The Rams, however, held the edge at the free-throw line, converting 15-of-21 attempts compared to Wagner's 3-of-6.
The Seahawks continue their road swing on Sunday, November 16, with a 12:00 p.m. tipoff at UMBC inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
