Despite three players in double-digits, the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team fell to host Wagner College, 78-67, on Thursday evening at Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, NY. The Knights fall to 7-20 on the season, including a 3-14 mark in Northeast Conference play, while the Seahawks improve to 21-7, including a 14-3 record in league action.
Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) led the Knights with 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) added 17 points and DeJuan Pursley (Leonia, NJ/Leonia) netted 10. Eric Hazard (Long Branch, NJ/St. Benedict's) dished out four assists.
A lay-in from Pursley made it an 8-5 game, but the Seahawks reeled off a 9-0 run to take a 17-5 lead, with eight points coming from James Ulrich.
A put-in from Baptiste created a nine-point gap, 19-10, with 12:19 left in the first half. Ulrich sank 1-of-2 from the line to give Wagner a 22-10 advantage, but FDU responded with seven-straight as Ubilla dropped in five points in the run (22-17).
The Seahawks responded with a 7-2 run to take a 29-19 lead, but Ubilla sank another bucket to trim the deficit to eight.
Ubilla found Baptiste in the corner behind the arc for a three and, after Baptiste grabbed the defensive rebound, Pursley laid it in on the next trip, making it a 35-30 game with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
Durell Vinson connected on the second of his two first half field goals with 1:15 left to send Wagner into the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
Baptiste led the Knights in the first 20 minutes, scoring 10 points, while Ubilla added nine. Jamal Smith led all scorers with 12 points. The two teams were evenly matched in the first half, each scoring 18 points in the paint. Wagner received 12 points from its bench, while the Knights had none.
Five minutes into the first half, a dunk by Pursley made the score 43-37.Ubilla drilled a three-pointer and Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater) sank a floater to make it a three-point game, 45-42. Ubilla sank another trey to cut the Seahawks' lead down to two, 47-45. Mark Porter responded with a lay-up, but Ubilla worked his way to the hoop for two more points, 49-47.
Wagner grabbed hold of a 52-47 edge, but another three from Ubilla cut the gap to 52-50. An 11-2 run by the Seahawks gave them a 63-52 lead, but a three from Raynell Pascal (Brooklyn, NY/Carson Long Military Institute) brought the Knights within eight with 5:23 on the clock.
Another 7-2 Seahawks' offensive spurt put the game at 70-57 with three minutes left to play. Ubilla swished another shot from long-range to bring the game down to 10, but FDU couldn't get any closer as the final was 76-67.
Fairleigh Dickinson turned the ball over a season-low six times.
Two Seahawks recorded double-digits as Ulrich finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds and Vinson had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Smith led Wagner with 20 points and Porter added 11. The Seahawks out-rebounded FDU, 51-28.
Wagner was 14-of-18 from the line, while Fairleigh Dickinson was 5-for-12. The Knights shot 42 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three-point range, while Wagner was 44 percent from the field and 53 percent from long-range.
“Wagner crushed us on the boards,” said Head Coach Tom Green. “Durell Vinson and James Ulrich combined for one more rebound than we got as a team. To get out-rebounded by 23 and still be in the game for 32 minutes is surprising. Manny and Sean were able to keep us in the game on their own.”
“Our weaknesses are that we don't have much of a bench and our lack of rebounding,” said Green. “We've been a pretty good free throw shooting team this season and tonight we surprisingly missed 7-of-12. To Wagner's credit, they are a very good team. They are very-well coached and have a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing.”
"If there is one good thing that you can take out of a game like tonight, DeJuan Pursley (Leonia, NJ/Leonia) played 40 minutes, getting some good game experience and Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) has been playing really well for us. Both of those guys will be counted on heavily next year.”
The Knights are back in action in the regular season finale when they host St. Francis PA on Saturday, March 1. Seniors Eric Hazard (Long Branch, NJ/St. Benedict's), Bernell Murray (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater), Raynell Pascal (Brooklyn, NY/Carson Long Military Institute) and Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) will be honored in a presentation prior to tipoff, at 7:00 p.m.
