STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner College men's basketball team earned a hard-fought non-conference victory on Wednesday night, defeating Maryland Eastern Shore 78–64 inside the Spiro Sports Center.
Wagner (4–6, 0–0 NEC) took control early after junior
Bryan Akanmu got the Seahawks on the board when redshirt-senior
Jaden Baker found him for a layup down low. The Seahawks continued to build momentum midway through the opening half, as junior
Eddie Placer connected from behind the arc to grow Wagner's lead to 26–16 with 6:39 remaining in the first half.
Wagner carried that momentum into the halftime break, holding UMES (4–12, 0–0 MEAC) to 31 first-half points while building a 35–31 advantage.
The Seahawks came out of halftime with quick offense, as Baker scored the first points of the second half on a mid-range jumper before knocking down a three-pointer on the next possession to extend the lead. UMES answered to knot the game at 43 with 15:38 remaining in the second half, but Wagner responded by pushing the lead back to double digits following a right-wing three from Placer with 11:40 remaining to make it 55–44.
Down the stretch, sophomore
Binael Basil and junior
John Awoke capitalized at the free-throw line, while Awoke sealed the Green & White's win with a three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining as Wagner held on for its third consecutive victory.
Basil paced Wagner with 19 points off the bench, while Placer added 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Awoke chipped in 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers.
Wagner shot 47.3 percent from the field and outscored UMES 38–15 in bench points, while controlling the paint with 32 points inside and committing a season-low five turnovers.
The Seahawks will wrap up non-conference action on Monday, December 22, against Manor College at the Spiro Sports Center, with tip-off set for 12:00 p.m.
