by Staten Island, NY – In the first All-Staten Island matchup in 16 years, the Wagner College Seahawks ran past their intra-borough rivals, the College of Staten Island Dolphins, 83-59, on Saturday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center.
Fourth-year head coach Bashir Mason picked up career win No. 50 in the process, becoming the eighth head coach in Wagner men’s basketball history to have at least 50 career victories.
Wagner (2-2) had a season-best four players score in double figures, led by redshirt-senior forward Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [Rhode Island]), who tossed in a season-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, and of 8-of-10 accuracy from the free-throw line.
Redshirt-senior guard Dwaun Anderson (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians) posted his fourth straight double-digit scoring performance of the season, setting a career high with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting while connecting on 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Junior guard Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) netted a career-high 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, to go with a team-high eight caroms, which ties his career high set at Seton Hall (11/15). Sophomore guard Romone Saunders (Temple Hills, MD/Potomac [Mt. Zion Prep]) added a season-best 11 points while also corralling eight rebounds in the victory.
The Dolphins, who hung tough for much of the contest, were paced by reigning CUNYAC Player of the Year Will Fonseca’s team-high 17 points. Guard Edin Bracic added 12 while forward Thomas Delahanty contributed 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds before fouling out.
The Seahawks held a 15-7 at the 12:38 mark of the first half before CSI responded with a 17-6 run over a four-minute stretch that gave the visitors a 22-21 lead after Khaleeq Baum made one-of-two from the charity stripe. During the run, CSI’s defense held the host Seahawks to just 3-of-9 shooting and 0-of-4 from long range while the visitors were an efficient 6-of-7 from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point land.
After Baum converted on a layup that increased the Dolphins’ lead to three, 24-21, Wagner responded with 15-7 run of its own to regain a five-point edge, 36-31, with 2:56 left to go before halftime. The Seahawks took a slim 40-36 advantage to the break, after being held to just 36.4 percent shooting in the first half despite, holding a plus-four advantage on the boards (21-17) in the opening frame.
In half number two, Saunders kicked-started the Wagner offense with a three-pointer off a feed from classmate, Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic), who finished the game with his fourth four-assist game of the season. CSI responded with a 10-2 outbreak over the next 4:28, that saw the Dolphins take a 46-45 lead at the 14:29 mark. The College of Staten Island held Wagner without a field goal during this run (0-of-7) and from long range (0-4).
Carey put an end to the Dolphins’ run by converting a heavily-contested layup that gave Wagner a 47-46 advantage with 13:52 left in the contest. Carey’s bucket shifted the momentum of the contest, as Wagner raced out to a 15-2 run over the next 4:46 that saw the lead increase to 12, 60-48, capped by Anderson, who completed an olf-fashioned three-point play.
Delahanty made two freebies which brought the lead back down to 10, 60-50, with 9:26 left, but it would be all Wagner the rest of the way, as the Seahawks’ closed out the contest by scoring 23 of the game’s final 32 points, while converting on 50.0 percent shooting from the field (8-of-16) and holding the Dolphins to just 30.0 percent (3-of-10).
The Green & White will have a quick turnaround this week, as they gear up for their third straight home contest when they welcome MEAC member, the Morgan State University Bears, on Wednesday, December 2. This contest will follow the women’s basketball game between the Seahawks and NJIT Highlanders at 5:00 pm. Tip-off for the men’s game is scheduled for 7:30 and will be streamed live on NEC Front Row (www.necfrontrow.com) as Joey Wahler will have the call from courtside.
Notes:
- When leading at halftime, the Seahawks are 34-4 under Mason
- Redshirt senior guard Dwaun Anderson has now poured in double-figures in every game this season, setting a career-high of 17 this afternoon against CSI
