Staten Island, N.Y. (March 8, 2014)—Mount St. Mary's defeated second-seeded Wagner, 77-72, in the Northeast Conference semifinals at the Spiro Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.  Senior Rashad Whack led the Mountaineers with a team-high 21 points.

The Mount used an 8-0 run to close the first half to take a 35-31 lead.  Mount St. Mary's (15-16) led the entire second half, but had to answer several Wagner (19-12) charges, to earn the win.

Sam Prescott converted a tough drive with 1:50 left in the game to lift the Mount to a 71-66 advantage, but Wagner's Kenneth Ortiz answered with a lay-up and a pair of free throws to cut the margin to 71-70 with 1:04 on the clock.

Prescott was then fouled with 46.4 seconds left, and he hit both free throws to push the lead back to three.  Marcus Burton missed a three-pointer, and Whack gathered the rebound and was fouled with 25 seconds left.  Whack, however, missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Wagner had another chance to tie, but Ortiz was off the mark on a three-pointer, and Whack again collected the board.

This time, Whack drilled both free throws to make it 75-70 with 11 seconds on the clock.  Ortiz drove the length of the court to cut the score to 75-72, and the Seahawks fouled Whack on the inbounds.  He again drilled both free throws with six seconds left to seal the win

Whack led the Mount with 21 points while adding five rebounds and a pair of steals.  Julian Norfleet chipped in 16 points and seven assists while Prescott finished with 16 points in the victory.  Gregory Graves had a solid contribution off the bench with 12 points and seven boards.

Ortiz led all scorers with 26 points with Burton adding 13 in the loss.  Whack did a nice job defensively on Wagner leading scorer Latif Rivers, holding him to seven points on 2-of-14 shooting.

Mount St. Mary's shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the game and held a 34-to-33 edge on the boards.  Wagner shot 42.6 percent in the loss.

In the 8-0 run to close the first half, Whack started the streak with a drive to the hoop, converting the bucket as he was fouled.  Whack missed the free throw, but after a Wagner miss, Gregory Graves was fouled on a rebound, and he hit both charity tosses to even the score at 31-31.

The Mountaineers got a stop on the other end, and Bryon Ashe was fouled with 4.6 seconds left in the half.  Ashe hit both free throws, and Prescott stole the inbounds pass, and buried a tough jumper to lift the Mount to the 35-31 advantage at the break.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with 13 lead changes and six ties.  The Mount shot 50.0 percent in the opening half, and held a slim 18-to-17 edge on the boards.  Wagner shot 40.0 percent in the half.  Whack led all scorers with 12 first-half points while Ortiz led Wagner with 10.

Mount St. Mary's advances to the NEC Championship game for the second consecutive season on Tuesday night.  The Mount will take on top-seeded Robert Morris on the road in Moon Township, Pa. at 7 p.m.  This will be the Mount's fourth title game appearance over the past seven seasons.

Information on buying tickets for Tuesday's NEC Championship game will be announced by noon on Sunday, March 9. Ticket prices are set at $20 for adults and $10 for children and college students. 

Game Notes:  Wagner holds a 32-19 lead in the all-time series…This was the third meeting between the two teams in the NEC Tournament with the Mount winning twice…The Mount last played Wagner in the NEC Tournament semifinals in 1993, falling 65-48, on the road.