Emmitsburg, Md. (January 16, 2014)--Julian Norfleet and Rashad Whack combined to score 55 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past Wagner, 89-80, at Knott Arena on Thursday night.

Norfleet finished with a game-high 28 points while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win.  Whack added a season-high 27 points while collecting five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists as the Mountaineers used a 19-3 run in the second-half to pull away for the win.

In the Mount's three Northeast Conference games this year, Norfleet is averaging 25.3 points per game while Whack chips in 22.7 points per contest.

Leading 45-43 early in the second half, the Mount (6-10, 2-1 NEC) went on an impressive 19-to-3 run to take a 64-46 advantage with 12:31 left.  Norfleet started the run with a three-point basket before Gregory Graves connected on back-to-back buckets for a 52-43 lead.  Whack converted a basket on an offensive rebound, and Norfleet's traditional three-point play pushed the advantage to 14 points.

After Wagner's Mario Moody converted a traditional three-point play of his own, Norfleet scored in the paint, Taylor Danaher added a tip-in, and Whack capped the 19-to-3 run with a pull-up three-pointer after a Wagner turnover to make it 64-46.

The Mountaineers continued the surge, stretching the lead to 80-58 after another Norfleet lay-up with 7:20 left.  Wagner fought back, cutting the Mount lead to 87-78 with 1:51 left, but could get no closer as the Mount earned the win.

The Mount shot 46.2 percent overall and was 10-of-24 (.417) from three-point range in the win.  The Mount also scored 34 points off 19 Wagner turnovers in the contest.  The Seahawks (8-8, 2-1 NEC) shot 49.2 percent from the floor in the loss.

Latif Rivers led Wagner with 18 points while Moody added a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

Wagner opened the game with a a 7-1 run before the Mountaineers answered by scoring the next 14 points of the game.  Byron Ashe and Will Miller each hit three-pointers to start the run with Norfleet scoring six points and Whack finishing the spurt with a lay-up.

Wagner regained the momentum with a 19-to-6 run to take a 26-21 lead.  Trailing 35-29 with just under a minute left in the half, the Mount stunned Wagner by scoring eight quick points to take a 37-35 lead at the break.  Miller's three-pointer started the run, and Norfleet added a bucket off a steal to cut the deficit to one.  Another steal led to a Whack three-pointer that gave the Mount the lead.

Mount St. Mary's closes out its three-game homestand against Robert Morris on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at Knott Arena. 

Game Notes:  Norfleet has now scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games…He is the first Mount player to do that since Chris McGuthrie had five in a row in 1995-96…Norfleet now leads the NEC in scoring at 20.7 points per game…The Mount trails the all-time series with Wagner, 31-18…Taylor Danaher chipped in nine rebounds in the win.