BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The No. 7 Wagner College men's basketball team fell to No. 1 LIU, 64–56, on Saturday afternoon inside the Steinberg Wellness Center in the semifinal round of the NEC Tournament.
The two teams battled through a tightly contested first half that featured five ties and six lead changes. LIU (23–10, 15–3 NEC) jumped out to an early 5–0 advantage before junior
Nick Jones put Wagner (14–17, 8–10 NEC) on the board with an and-one layup.
A three-pointer from Jones midway through the half gave the Seahawks a brief 13–12 lead, but the Sharks answered with a jumper on the ensuing possession to regain control. LIU pushed its lead to as many as six during the period, before Jones responded with a dunk and a jumper late in the half to tie the game at 23 heading into the break.
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening 20 minutes, as Wagner and LIU each shot 8-of-26 from the field while connecting on just one three-pointer apiece.
Jones opened the second half with a jumper to give Wagner a 25–23 lead, but LIU responded with a surge midway through the period. The Sharks used a 17–8 run to take a 40–33 advantage with 11:19 remaining.
Wagner continued to battle back, trimming the deficit to two following a layup from graduate student
Travis Gray. LIU stretched its lead back to six on multiple occasions before junior
Eddie Placer connected from beyond the arc and Jones knocked down two free throws to cut the margin to one, 48–47, with 5:37 left.
The Sharks answered with a decisive 10–3 run over the next three minutes to build a 58–50 lead. Wagner trimmed the deficit to three on several occasions late, but LIU held the Seahawks at bay down the stretch to secure the 64–56 victory.
Jones led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Sophomore
Binael Basil added nine points and nine rebounds, while graduate student
Travis Gray chipped in eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
As a team, Wagner shot 32.1 percent from the field and 13.6 percent from three-point range, while LIU shot 41.5 percent overall and 13.3 percent from beyond the arc while holding a narrow 36–35 rebounding edge.
With the loss, Wagner concludes its season at 14–17 overall and 8–10 in NEC play, while LIU advances to the NCAA Tournament and the NEC Championship game against Mercyhurst on Tuesday, March 10.
