Staten Island, N.Y. (February 22, 2014)—Mount St. Mary's saw its late rally come up just short in a 71-66 loss at Wagner on Saturday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center.  Rashad Whack paced the Mountaineers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his second career double-double.

Trailing 62-49 with 4:04 remaining, the Mountaineers (11-15, 7-6 NEC) hit three-pointers on four consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 64-61 with 1:40 on the clock.  Sam Prescott and Whack started the run with back-to-back three-pointers to make it 62-55.

After a pair of Kenneth Ortiz free throws, Byron Ashe drilled another three-pointer, and the Mount's Julian Norfleet connected from deep on the next possession to cut the deficit to three.

Ortiz, however, converted a tough drive to the basket with 1:06 on the clock to push the Wagner (15-11, 9-4 NEC) advantage to 66-61.  Whack hit 1-of-2 at the line on the other end for the Mount, but was countered by a pair of Marcus Burton free throws. 

Norfleet added a pair of free throws for Mount St. Mary's with 24 seconds left, and Ortiz hit 1-of-2 at the other end to put Wagner up 69-64.  Whack was then fouled with 18.5 seconds remaining, and he hit 2-of-2 at the line to make it a 69-66 game.  Wagner's Latif Rivers was fouled going up the sideline, and he hit both shots for the final margin of 71-66.  The Mount's Norfleet missed a three-pointer with nine seconds left, and Wagner got the rebound and dribbled out the clock.

Whack led the Mount with his double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Norfleet and Prescott added 14 points each in the loss while Ashe chipped in eight points.  Norfleet dished out a game-high six assists for the Mount as well.

Ortiz led all scorers with 21 points while chipping in seven rebounds and four assists for the Seahawks.  Rivers added 14 points and Dwaun Anderson 12 in the victory.

The Mountaineers shot 43.6 percent overall, but were held to 7-of-26 (.269) shooting from beyond the three-point arc.  Wagner shot 47.4 percent and held a commanding 39-to-28 edge on the boards.

The Mount started off the game strong, bolting to a 17-10 lead just over seven minutes into the contest.  Bryon Ashe hit a three-pointer to snap an 8-8 tie to start a 9-2 run for the Mountaineers.  Prescott, Whack and Danaher added buckets to give the Mount its seven-point advantage.

Wagner responded with a 15-4 run that was keyed by second chance points to take a 25-21 lead.  Ten of Wagner's 15 points during the run came after offensive rebounds.

The Mount answered that run, pulling ahead, 31-30, on a Norfleet scoop shot in the lane with 1:11 left in the half.  Wagner, however, got an Ortiz bucket with 45 seconds left, and an Anderson lay-up at the buzzer after a steal to take a 34-31 lead at the half.

The Mount shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first half, but was just 2-of-12 (.167) from three-point range.  Wagner shot 44.1 percent in the opening half, and held a 23-17 edge on the boards.  The Seahawks had 18 second-chance points in the opening half.

Mount St. Mary's returns home to face Bryant on Monday, February 24, at 8:30 p.m.   The game is second half of a doubleheader with the Mount women's team hosting Saint Francis University at 6:00 p.m.

Game Notes:  The Mountaineers have clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference Tournament…The NEC Quarterfinal round will be Wednesday, March 5…The Mount is now 18-32 all-time against Wagner.