ERIE, Pa. — The Wagner men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 83–80 overtime road victory over Mercyhurst on Thursday night inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Mercyhurst (13–15, 8–7 NEC) opened the game with an 11–4 run in the opening minutes, but Wagner (10–16, 5–10 NEC) answered back, taking a 15–13 lead after junior
Nick Jones found junior
Eddie Placer for a right-wing three-pointer. A jumper from junior
Michael Cooper extended the Seahawks' lead to 17–13 midway through the first half. Wagner stretched its advantage to 12 late in the opening period, capped by a Cooper layup, before Mercyhurst closed the half with a late three to send the Green & White into the break holding a 35–26 edge.
The Seahawks continued to apply pressure early in the second half. Triples from graduate student
Travis Gray and junior
John Awoke helped Wagner push its lead to as many as 15 midway through the frame. Mercyhurst answered with a surge of its own, putting together a 16–2 run to take a 59–58 lead with 5:06 remaining. With the game tied at 67 and 26 seconds left in regulation, Mercyhurst knocked down three free throws over its next two possessions. Down three in the closing seconds, Wagner found its answer as Placer drilled a clutch corner three with 0.8 seconds remaining to force overtime.
In the extra period, Jones opened the scoring with a triple, and junior
Bryan Akanmu followed with a jumper in the paint to give Wagner breathing room. Gray iced the game at the free-throw line in the final moments, knocking down four foul shots in the closing 20 seconds to secure the three-point victory.
Jones led Wagner with 19 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Cooper provided a lift off the bench with 15 points, while Gray recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore
Binael Basil added 13 points and seven boards in the win.
Overall, Wagner finished the night shooting 44.8 percent from the field while converting 24-of-30 attempts from the free-throw line. The Seahawks also held a 41–33 rebounding edge and received 24 points from their bench.
The Seahawks return to action on Saturday, Feb. 21, as they wrap up their regular-season road schedule at Saint Francis with a 2 p.m. tip-off in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
