Emmitsburg, Md. (February 17, 2021)--Mount St. Mary's rallied from an eight-point deficit with 4:25 remaining to even the score, but Wagner's Alex Morales hit a pair of free throws with 5.1 seconds left for a 57-55 win over the Mount at Knott Arena on Wednesday afternoon.  Damian Chong Qui scored the Mount's final 12 points of the game en route to a team-high 18.  The Mountaineers fall to 8-9 overall and 7-6 in the Northeast Conference with the loss.

Wagner built a 51-43 advantage with 4:25 left on a Morales drive to the basket before the Mountaineers rallied behind the stellar play from Chong Qui.  The junior guard nailed a three-pointer with 3:58 left to cut the deficit to five, and he added a second three-poniter from the top of the key with 2:20 on the clock to make it a two-point game.  The Mount forced a turnover on the next possession, and Chong Qui was fouled with 1:41 on the clock.  He calmly sank both free throws to tie the score at 51-51. 

On Wagner's ensuing possession, Elijah Ford drained a three-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock expired to give the Seahawks (8-5, 8-4 NEC) a three-point advantage.  It was Ford's first three-pointer made this season.  Chong Qui was fouled again, and he hit both free throws to make it 54-53 with 59.2 on the clock.  Ford was fouled with 32.6 seconds left, and he hit 1-of-2 at the line to push Wagner's lead back to two.  Mount St. Mary's tied the game again, this time on a terrific pull-up jumper from the left side of the lane by Chong Qui to make it 55-55.  On the next possession, Wagner's Morales was fouled as he was attempting to drive to the basket.  He converted both ends of the one-and-one for a two-point lead with 5.1 seconds on the clock.

The Mountaineers inbounded the ball to Deandre Thomas, who raced down court, but saw his potential game-tying lay-up at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and fall off, allowing Wagner to escape with the victory.

Chong Qui scored the Mount's final 12 points to finish with a team-high 18 while adding six assists and four rebounds in the game.  He was 5-for-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.  Thomas went 4-of-8 from three-point range to finish with 12 points while chipping in four boards as well.  Nana Opoku tallied 10 points and five rebounds while freshman Frantisek Barton had his best game in a Mount uniform with seven points, five boards and a pair of blocks. Morales led all scorers with 20 points along with six rebounds and four assists to pace Wagner.  Ford recorded 15 points and Will Martinez 10 in the victory.

Mount St. Mary's shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) in the game, including 7-of-17 (.412) from three-point range.  Wagner shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) overall and was 4-of-11 (.364) from beyond the arc.  Th eMount committed 15 turnovers in the contest compared to Wagner's 10.  Mount St. Mary's held a 32-to-25 edge on the boards.

Wagner closed the first half with an 8-to-3 run to take a 30-22 advantage at the break.  The Seahawks used consecutive three-pointers from Delonnie Hunt and Elijah Allen to build its biggest lead of the game at 41-29 early in the second half.

The Mountaineers are back in action this weekend with a two-game series against Fairleigh Dickinson on February 20-21.  Tip-off for both days will be 2:00 p.m.