Wagner set to draw battle lines against Merrimack as Cinderella run continues

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

Just two weeks ago, Wagner found itself reeling at a place far away from its Staten Island campus.

In a 70-56 loss at Le Moyne, the Seahawks barely shot 30 percent from the field, and it looked like their thin rotation had reared its ugly head.

But what a difference two weeks can make.

Tonight, Wagner will battle Merrimack in pursuit of the program’s first Northeast Conference championship since 2003. The last time the Seahawks played at Lawler Arena in North Andover, they escaped with a 71-65 win, overcoming a seven-point halftime deficit in the process. 

The same team that rolls into Lawler tonight is far better equipped and comfortable in its own skin than the product that was on display that January night, and which followed — not even a full week later — with a 60-44 loss to the Warriors back at home. 

It’s no secret Wagner lacks depth. The Seahawks consistently play seven guys due to a spate of injuries dealt to Donald Copeland’s group. Junior guard Zaire Williams was supposed to be a key contributor for Wagner this season, but he too went down and hasn’t played since early December. Still, the Seahawks have managed to stay whole, relying on each person to be stronger together despite their bouts with adversity.

“Being there with each other and staying with each other,” Tahron Allen said when asked how the bench spectators have helped the entire team flourish. “It’s a good thing and a bad thing. We wish those guys were on the court, but they are just as much of a help off the court, too.” 

In the quarterfinal round at Sacred Heart, it was Allen who was the hero, hitting a slew of tough shots and not backing down even after Wagner proceeded to miss nine of 10 threes after knocking down seven of their 11. Melvin Council, Jr., Wagner's leading scorer at 14.7 points per game, was held to two points by Sacred Heart, but stayed ready and made the game’s biggest play with a chasedown block on Kyle McGee with the Seahawks trailing by two inside the final two minutes.

On Aidan Carpenter’s last-second three-point attempt to try to tie the game, Brown and Tyje Kelton got tangled up, and thankfully for the Seahawks, the shot missed. Mission accomplished. Wagner had punched its ticket to the semifinal round at CCSU. 

“To play a full 40 minutes is something we haven’t been able to do,” said Copeland, whose team entered the NEC tournament on a two-game losing streak. “We really showed some toughness down the stretch.” 

Holding a strong Sacred Heart offense to 57 points was just the start, though. In New Britain on Saturday, Wagner took a 28-23 lead into the halftime break, saw Central Connecticut battle back to tie the game at 39 with 9:06 left, then closed the game on a 27-17 run. Keyontae Lewis scored 10 of Wagner’s first 12 points. Sophomore guard Julian Brown did most of the heavy lifting from there, scoring 20 points without checking out of the game once, and Council was clutch down the stretch after battling through foul trouble for most of the second half. 

“I’m enjoying that we get to prepare again,” Copeland said. “I’m enjoying that I get to go watch film again, be with my team again in these moments. Obviously, it’s great to still be playing because this league is so tough, and just do what we’ve been able to do.”

Lewis and Council fouled inside the last three minutes, leaving the Seahawks to five healthy rotation bodies. Still, Wagner had four players score in double digits, and there was no question as to who was the better side on both sides of the ball.

“They worked their butt off today and deserved everything they got,” CCSU head coach Patrick Sellers said about Wagner. 

Wagner will need one final push tonight to get past a Merrimack squad led by NEC Player of the Year Jordan Derkack and NEC Freshman of the Year Budd Clark. In the win over Merrimack back in January, Derkack and Clark were held to 16 points, and the former struggled to the tune of 3-of-9 shooting from the field. Just like Copeland has emphasized, the Wagner defense will need to put forth a full 40 minutes on the defensive end if it wants to cut down the nets and ruin Merrimack’s March dreams in the Warriors’ final NEC game before moving to the MAAC next season. Offensively, Wagner will need to be ready to adjust on the fly against Merrimack’s premier 3-2 zone defense, while hoping for a breakthrough from Council, one of the men most responsible for getting them this far. 

“What we’re doing right now, we really aren’t surprised,” Brown said after the win over CCSU. “We’re grateful for this opportunity, but we’re not really surprised because we put the work in and expected this to happen.”