Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's basketball team was defeated by the CCSU Blue Devils on ESPNU at the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday night.

Prior to tip-off, five senior and graduate student-athletes  - Churchill Bounds, Zae Blake, Tyje Kelton, Zaire Williams, and Javier Ezquerra - were recognized for their accomplishments and careers as members of the Wagner Seahawks.

Wagner and CCSU battled back-and-forth for a majority of the contest, as the lead changed hands nine separate times with five separate ties.

In the first half, Wagner held a 27-23 lead with less than one minute to go in the frame. Two straight three-point field goals by the Blue Devils granted CCSU a 29-27 halftime advantage.

After 20 minutes of play, graduate students Zae Blake and Churchill Bounds led Wagner's offense with eight and seven points respectively. 

Senior Di'Andre Howell-South chipped in four first half points, seniors Javier Ezquerra and senior Zaire Williams each had three points at the half, and junior Keyontae Lewis scored two points to round out the first half scoring for the Green & White.

Wagner dominated points in the paint, outscoring CCSU 10-2 in the category in the first. The Seahawks held a first half lead for over 13 minutes in the half, but trailed by one score at the intermission.

In the second half, Wagner would hold CCSU to 6-19 (31.6%), but CCSU went 13-18 (72.2%) from the charity stripe during the frame, compared to Wagner's free throw success rate of 0-3 (0%). 

Five minutes into the frame, Ezquerra found senior Tyje Kelton on a fastbreak for an easy transition layup, which forced a CCSU 30-second timeout as Wagner held a 38-34 lead.

Over the next 12 minutes of game action, the Blue Devils would go on a 12-2 run to possess a six-point lead with three minutes to play. 

CCSU would close the game shooting 9-10 from the free throw line to help secure its 23rd win of its 2024-25 season. The Blue Devils were named 2025 Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champions for the second consecutive season.

With the loss, the Seahawks' 2024-25 regular season record concludes at 14-15 with a 6-10 mark in NEC play.

For the Seahawks, Blake led all scorers with 17 as Bounds added a season-high 13 points on 6-8 shooting with three blocks. 

Next up, the sixth-seeded Wagner Seahawks will travel to the third-seeded Saint Francis (PA) for the NEC Tournament's quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, March 5. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm at DeGol Arena. 

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