March 1, 2007

Box Score

Fairfield, CT - The Wagner men's basketball team's 2006-07 season came to an end as they were eliminated from the NEC Tournament after a 100-68 loss to second seeded Sacred Heart earlier tonight at the Pitt Center. The Seahawks end the year with an 11-19 record, while the Pioneers (18-13) move on to the NEC Semifinals on Sunday.

Sacred Heart jumped on top of the Seahawks right from the opening tip as they scored the first five points of the game on the way to a 15-4 lead in the first five minutes. Wagner would then trail by nine (22-13) five minutes later when a 14-2 Pioneer run opened up 36-15 lead with 4:24 to play before the half. The Seahawks, who shot just 31.3 percent and coughed up 10 turnovers in the period, would trail 44-25 at halftime after a three from sophomore Jamal Smith (Baltimore, MD / Towson Catholic) in the final minute.

The second half was more of the same as the Sacred Heart lead grew to 56-29 in the first five minutes of the stanza. Senior Matt Vitale (Brooklyn, NY / St. Edmund's Prep) then came alive with 12 minutes to go hitting two straight three-pointers and adding another long jumper in a two minute span to highlight an 11-0 Wagner run. The Pioneers would answer right back with a 17-2 stretch and extend the lead to 83-46 before the final outcome.

Playing in the final game of his collegiate career Vitale lead the Seahawks and equaled a career high with 20 points, hitting six three pointers. The lone senior on the team, he also pulled in a team high seven rebounds as he ends his career with 168 career threes which rank him sixth on the Wagner all-time list.

Junior James Ulrich (Mt. Laurel, NJ / Camden Catholic) was also in double figures with 12 points, while sophomore Joey Mundweiler (Olathe, KS / Olathe East) and junior Mark Porter (Atlantic City, NJ / St. Augustine's Prep) added 10 apiece.

Wagner shot 32.4 percent for the game and 29.7 percent (11-37) from beyond the arc.

Joey Henley had 20 points and 11 rebounds to pace five double digit scorers for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers ended the night hitting on 58.8 percent of their attempts, including 63.2 percent in the second half.

~wagnerathletics.com ~