LORETTO, Pa. — The Wagner men's basketball team pulled away late to earn a 65–56 road victory over Saint Francis on Saturday afternoon inside DeGol Arena.
The teams traded baskets throughout the opening half, with neither side able to create separation. Graduate student
Travis Gray provided an early spark, knocking down a three-pointer and converting a tip-in to help Wagner (11–16, 6–10 NEC) regain the lead midway through the period. Saint Francis (6–22, 4–11 NEC) closed strong in the final minutes, knotting the game at 27 with 2:57 left in the opening frame. The Red Flash briefly went up two, but sophomore
Binael Basil knocked down a pair of free throws in the final moments to send the game into halftime tied at 31.
Saint Francis got the scoring started in the second half, but Wagner answered with a triple from junior
John Awoke and a converted and-one from Gray to take a four-point lead. A deep three from Gray and a transition layup from junior
Nick Jones helped the Seahawks reclaim momentum before multiple Red Flash answers trimmed the margin to one.
Wagner pushed its lead to eight with just over five minutes remaining following a pair of free throws from Basil. Saint Francis cut the deficit to four late, but junior
Eddie Placer drilled a corner three to put the Green & White up seven, 60–53, with 1:47 remaining. The Seahawks held strong down the stretch and closed the game out at the charity stripe to seal the nine-point victory.
Gray led Wagner with a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, recording his second consecutive double-double while shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Jones added nine points, while Basil finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Overall, Wagner shot 39.2 percent from the field and converted 18-of-23 attempts at the line. The Seahawks also held a 39–34 rebounding edge and limited Saint Francis to just 31.0 percent shooting in the second half.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Wagner sits seventh in the NEC standings ahead of the conference tournament.
The Seahawks return to action next week, hosting New Haven on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. inside the Spiro Sports Center.
