New York, N.Y. (February 18, 2020)—Mount St. Mary's rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit, but could not hold on in a 67-61 loss at Wagner on Tuesday night.  Malik Jefferson led the Mountaineers with 19 points and nine rebounds in the game.

Wagner scored the first four points of the second half to take its biggest lead, 43-31.  The Mountaineers responded with six unanswered points to cut the deficit to 43-37.  Jefferson scored in the paint, Nana Opoku on a nice transition bucket, and Jalen Gibbs on a runner in the lane to make it a six-point game.  Wagner, however, answered with the next four points to build the advantage back to double digits.

The Mount (10-17, 6-8 NEC) then rattled off the next 11 points to take the lead on a Vado Morse three-pointer with 11:08 remaining.  Morse scored seven points during the run which also included an Opoku bucket and a Jefferson dunk.

Curtis Cobb hit a three-pointer on the other end to give Wagner (6-19, 3-11 NEC) the lead back, but Jefferson scored the Mount's next eight points around another Cobb three to give the Mount a 56-53 lead.  The Seahawks fought back, scoring the next 11 points to take a 64-56 lead with 1:20 on the clock.  Cobb was a key cog in the run with seven points while Alex Morales had the other four.

The Mount hung tough, cutting the deficit to 65-61 with 35.9 second left on a Morse three-pointer.  After a Wagner miss on a free throw, the Mount had a pair of chances to cut into the deficit, but Damain Chong Qui missed in the lane and Gibbs was off the mark on a three-point attempt.  Cobb hit a pair at the line with 9.6 seconds left to seal the win.

Jefferson paced the Mount with 19 points and nine boards, hitting 8-of-12 from the floor.  Morse chipped in 12 points and three assists, Opoku 10 points and five rebounds and Omar Habwe 10 points and nine boards off the bench.  Brandon Leftwich dished out a career-high six assists in the loss.  Cobb led all scorers with 23 points while Tyrone Nesby IV added 20 points.

Wagner shot 44.2 percent in the game, including 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range.  The Mount shot 42.1 percent and was 5-15 (.333)  from three-point range.  Wagner held a narrow 35-to-34 edge on the boards while each team committed 11 turnovers.

The Mount opened the game with a Jefferson bucket in the paint, but Wagner answered with a 9-0 to take a seven-point advantage at the first media timeout.  The Seahawks built the advantage to 20-8 on a Chase Freeman fast-break basket, and led 30-18 with 6:56 left in the opening half after a Nesby IV three-pointer. 

The Mountaineers were able to cut into the deficit when Gibbs connected on back-to-back three-pointers to make it 36-29 with 4:06 left in the half.  Wagner was able to maintain the lead, holding a 39-31 advantage at the break.

Wagner was 13-of-27 (.481) from the field in the opening half, hitting 4-of-7 (.571) from three-point range.  The Seahawks were able to get to the free throw line, converting 9-of-13 (.692) of its charity tosses in the opening half.  The Mount shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field in the first half while making 3-of-8 (.375) from beyond the three-point arc.  Nesby IV led all scorers with 16 first-half points while Habwe paced the Mountaineers with 10.

The Mountaineers remain on the road, heading to Robert Morris on Friday, February 21, for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Colonials at the brand new UPMC Events Center.