Chicago, IL - The Wagner College men's basketball team took down the Chicago State Cougars by a score of 64-52 at the Jones Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks jumped out to a 17-7 lead prior to the second media timeout. Wagner would extend its lead to a game-high 22 points with 5:43 left to go in the half after senior Tyje Kelton nailed a corner three off of an assist from graduate student Zae Blake.

At the half, the Seahawks led 33-12. 

Wagner's suffocating defense kept the Cougars to 5-19 from the floor for a shooting percentage of 26.3% and a clip of 2-11 (18.2%) from beyond-the-arc in the first half

Concurrently, the Green & White shot 12-20 (60%) from the floor and 5-9 (55.6%) from the three-point line after 20 minutes of game action. 

The Seahawks also outrebounded the Cougars 16-8 in the first half, grabbing 13 defensive rebounds and three offensive rebounds. Wagner also scored 11 more points off of turnovers, six more points in the paint, five second chance points, and 17 more bench points in the first half.

Greene led all scorers with 11 points on a perfect 5-5 from the field. Senior Zaire Williams added seven points in 14 minutes of action in the first.

In the second half, Chicago State chipped away at Wagner's lead to eventually bring it to a five points game with 6:10 to play.

Crucial baskets from Williams, Greene, and senior Javier Ezquerra lifted the Seahawks late in the game to force Chicago State to foul to stop the clock.

Ezquerra, Blake, and freshman Zavier Fitch stepped up and hit big free throws to secure Wagner's fifth conference win of the 2024-25 campaign over the Chicago State Cougars, 64-52.

Williams scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. The Brooklyn native also snagged a team-high nine rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Greene scored 13 points with five rebounds, Blajke and Ezquerra both scored 11 points, with Blake corralling six rebounds and Ezquerra grabbing four rebounds. 

Fitch scored four points with five rebounds, senior Tyje Kelton scored three points and graduate student Churchill Bounds chipped in two points and two rebounds. 

Wagner outrebounded Chicago State 34-22 while outsourcing the Cougars bench, 27-11.

With the win, the Seahawks improve to 14-13 overall with a 6-8 mark in conference play.

Chicago State falls to 4-25 on its season with a record of 4-10 in NEC action. 

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Next up, Wagner will take on LIU in its final road regular season game of the 2024-25 season at the Steinberg Wellness Center on Thursday, February 27. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.