Jan. 30, 2007

Box Score

Brooklyn, NY -Wagner senior Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY / St. Edmund's Prep) rattled home six three pointers and totaled 19 points as the Wagner College Seahawks defeated LIU by a count of 80-77 in league play at the Wellness Center in Brooklyn tonight. The Seahawks second consecutive win improved them to 5-5 in the Northeast Conference and 8-13 on the year. The Blackbirds fell to 3-7 NEC and 7-14 overall.

In a tight game that contained 13 lead changes and six ties, Wagner finally took control on a three by sophomore Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS / Olathe East) with 1:14 left in the game. The three was Mundwieler's only field goal of the game, but gave Wagner a four point advantage (72-68). The Seahawks then kept LIU at bay and sealed the win making 7-8 from the foul line, including 5-6 from junior Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep).

Five points from sophomore Justin Drummond (Baltimore, MD / McDonogh) helped give the Seahawks their first lead of the second half on a 10-2 run which gave Wagner a 59-56 lead at the 7:26 mark. The back and forth would then continued until Mundweiler's clutch shot.

"When Joe started out 0-4 I kept telling him to keep his head and that he was going to hit a shot to win the game for us," said Head Coach Mike Deane.

The first half was highlighted by a 12-4 LIU run turned a one point deficit into a seven point (23-25) lead with 2:226 remaining. Esa Maki-Tulokas was a perfect 3-3 from downtown during the four minute stretch which saw Wagner shoot just 1-6 from the field. The Seahawks then rallied and closed the half on a 7-1 run, including a three from Vitale that left them down 33-32 at intermission.

The Wagner offense was paced by five double-digit scorers for the third time this season. After Vitale Porter and junior James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Camden Catholic) had 14 points each, while Ulrich supplied a game high nine rebounds. Drummond ended with 11 points and sophomore Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD / Towson Catholic) had 10.

Overall the Seahawks held a huge 49-31 edge in rebounding, including a 20-8 advantage on the offensive end. Wagner shot 41.7 percent from the field.

LIU also had five double-digit scorers led by Donovin McLendon with a career high 15 points. The Blackbirds shot 44.4 percent for the game.

Wagner is now off until next Monday when Sacred Heart visits Staten Island and the Spiro Sports Center.

~wagnerathletics.com ~