Emmitsburg, Md. (February 7, 2008)--Wagner rallied
from a 19-point first half deficit to defeat Mount St. Mary's,
83-75, in overtime in Northeast Conference action at Knott Arena on
Thursday night. Mark Porter scored eight of his game-high 25
points to pace the Seahawks (16-6, 9-2 NEC) to the victory. Chris
Vann and Jeremy Goode each scored 15 points in the loss for the
Mount (10-13, 6-6 NEC).
The Mount opened the game hitting 5-of-6 from three-point range to
take an 18-to-4 lead five minutes into the contest. Mount St.
Mary's kept rolling on the offensive end, grabbing its biggest lead
of the game, 33-14, after a Will Holland three-pointer with 6:24
left in the first half. Wagner used a late 9-1 run to cut the
Mount deficit under double figures before Jean Cajou drained a
jumper at the first half buzzer to give the Mount a 40-29 advantage
at the break.
In the opening half, the Mount was
7-for-14 (.500) from three-point range and hit 46.4 percent overall
from the field. Wagner was just 1-of-8 (.125) from three-point
range in the half and was held to 32.1 percent shooting from the
field.
Trailing 48-34 with 15:54 left in
regulation, the Seahawks used a 12-0 run to get back into the
game. Back-to-back three-pointers from Joey Mundweiler and Jamal
Smith kick-started the run that cut the Mount lead to 48-46 with
12:53 on the clock. The Mount answered with four straight points
and led 60-53 with 5:45 on the clock after a pair of Goode free
throws.
Mundweiler drained a three-pointer with
1:19 left to even the score at 62-62 and James Ulrich hit a free
throw with 53 seconds left to give Wagner its first lead since
2-0. Goode missed a tough lay-up in the paint on the Mount's next
possession, and Porter was fouled with 23 seconds on the clock.
Porter missed the front end of a one-and-one foul, but Smith
converted a putback to give Wagner a 65-62 advantage to cap a 12-2
Seahawk run.
The Mount raced up court on the inbounds
pass and Will Holland drained a three-pointer to even the score at
65-65. Porter came back on the other end, but missed a
three-pointer with five seconds left, and the Mount raced to the
other end, but Will Holland's shot from the baseline at the buzzer
was blocked by Porter.
In overtime, Porter and Goode exchanged
free throws to put the score at 66-66 with 2:55 left. Wagner
scored the next nine points to seal the victory. Durell Vinson
converted back-to-back lay-ups and Porter drained a three-pointer
for a 73-66 advantage with 1:17 left to seal the victory.
Porter tallied 25 points, eight rebounds
and six assists to pace Wagner in the game while Ulrich chipped in
15 points and seven boards off the bench. Smith and Mundweiler
finished with 12 points apiece while Vinson added 11 points and 11
rebounds for a double-double.
Goode tallied 15 points, eight rebounds
and seven assists to pace the Mount, but was just 4-of-17 from the
field. Vann added 15 points, Holland 14 and Sam Atupem 10 in the
loss.
The Mount was held to 34.3 percent
shooting in the second half and overtime combined to finish
25-of-63 (.397) from the field in the game. Wagner was 18-of-34
(.529) over the same span and finished 28-of-66 (.424) from the
floor.
Wagner held a 49-to-37 advantage on the
boards, including 17 offensive rebounds. The Seahawks held a
42-to-26 advantage in points in the paint in the game.
The Mount returns to action on Saturday,
February 9, with a 6:00 p.m. game at Monmouth. That contest will
be televised live on MSG and Fox College Sports and on tape delay
on the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) at 11:00 p.m.
Game Notes: The Mount
falls to 10-1 this season when leading at the half...This was the
first overtime game of the year for the Mount...Wagner is now 14-4
all-time in games played at Knott Arena and leads the all-time
series, 25-12.
