STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner College men's basketball team fell 69–60 to Stonehill on Sunday afternoon in its NEC home opener inside the Spiro Sports Center.
Wagner (6–7, 1–1 NEC) and Stonehill (4–11, 1–1 NEC) traded leads throughout a tightly contested first half. The Seahawks opened the scoring on a basket from junior
Bryan Akanmu and briefly regained the advantage following a three-pointer from redshirt senior
Jaden Baker with 15:38 remaining. Midway through the half, sophomore
Binael Basil found graduate student
Travis Gray in the corner for a three to extend Wagner's lead to 14–10. A balanced offensive effort kept the Seahawks in front late, as Wagner carried a slim 29–28 edge into the break.
Stonehill opened the second half with an 11–4 run and never relinquished the lead. The Skyhawks connected on five three-pointers in the final 20 minutes and pushed the margin to double digits midway through the half. Wagner continued to battle, cutting the deficit to five on multiple occasions, including baskets from Basil and sophomore
Zavier Fitch, but Stonehill answered each push down the stretch to secure the win.
Basil paced Wagner with a team-high 12 points off the bench, while Fitch and Baker added nine points apiece. Junior
Nick Jones chipped in nine points, four assists, and four rebounds.
Wagner shot 40.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range, converting all nine of its free-throw attempts. The Seahawks held a slight 33–32 rebounding advantage and outscored Stonehill 36–22 in bench points.
Wagner will return to action on Thursday, January 8, as NEC play continues with a matchup against defending NEC champion Saint Francis. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Spiro Sports Center.
