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Santa Clara, CA - Wagner (5-4) will play for its second-straight Cable Car Classic Championship tomorrow night against host Santa Clara at 11:15 pm (EST), following a hard-fought 63-53 win over SMU (8-4) and Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown in the tournament opener. After the Mustangs began the second half scoring with a layup, the Seahawks responded with a game-changing 18-0 run over the next 5:41 while turning a six-point deficit into an insurmountable 44-32 lead with 13:08 to play.

Led by senior Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA / Kennedy / City College of San Francisco), who notched a team-best 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, all 10 Green & White players that saw action scored. Sophomore Mario Moody was a force off the bench, recording six blocks, seven rebounds and six points, highlighted by this impressive slam off a missed shot.

Fueling Wagner's victory was another tremendous second-half effort that saw the defending Cable Car Champions outscore SMU by a 37-23 margin. The Seahawks shot a blistering 60.0 percent (9-for-15) from the floor after intermission while posting a decisive 19-8 advantage on the glass. On the year, the Green & White has now outrebounded the opposition by a staggering +5.5 figure in the second half, compared with a -2.0 figure in the first half.

In the opening stanza, it appeared as though Wagner would be in line for an easy victory. After the Mustangs opened the scoring with a Ryan Manuel three-point play, the Seahawks ripped off seven-straight points en route to posting a 15-2 run. Fueling the big spurt was a Wagner defense that forced SMU into just 1-for-17 shooting after Manuel's aforementioned bucket.

With the lead still in double-figures at 20-10 at the 6:06 mark of the first half, the Mustangs sliced deficit in half with a 6-1 run, before freshman Dwaun Anderson (Suttons Bay, MI / Suttons Bay / Michigan State) briefly quelled the spurt with a pair from the line. SMU then closed out the half with 14-3 run en route to opening up at 30-26 lead at intermission.

The Mustangs assumed the halftime lead thanks to posting an 18-2 advantage in points in the paint, while winning the battle of the boards (20-14). Jones led all players with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Seahawks had eight different players score, paced by Williams and freshman Eric Fanning (Trenton, NJ / Perkiomen (PA)) with five points apiece.

With SMU up six early in the second half, Wagner responded with 18-straight points as the Seahawks converted six-straight shots from the floor. Senior Josh Thompson (Bridgeton, NJ / St. Augustine Prep) was one of six Wagner players to score during the spurt, notching a team-best six points during that time. Included in the run was this shot by junior Naofall Folahan (Cotonou, Republic of Benin / Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)) off a pass from junior Kenneth Ortiz (Newark, NJ / Science Park / Southern Mississippi). 

The Seahawk lead would grow to 13 points on two occasions, before the Mustangs made one last push. Down 57-46 with 2:21 to play, Nick Russell scored five-straight points,and Manuel split a pair from the line to make it a five-point game. After Williams hit the a free throw on the ensuing possession, Ortiz corralled the rebound on the second attempt and Williams again split a pair from the line as the Green & White would not be seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Fanning joined Williams in double-figures with 11 points while adding three steals and three rebounds. Thompson scored eight points on his 23rd birthday as Ortiz also chipped in with eight points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals to round out the top performers.

Jones led SMU with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, but was limited to just three points and two rebounds after halftime. Also standing out for the Mustangs were Russell, who scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, and Manuel, who chipped in with 15 points.

Wagner shot 48.6 percent (18-for-37) from the floor while limiting SMU to just 34.0 percent (18-for-53) from the field and won the rebounding battle (33-28) for the eighth time this year.

NOTES:
* The win improves head coach Bashir Mason's career record to 5-4 while Larry Brown falls to 1632-1191 in his 38th year as a coach (ABA, NBA, College).

* Thanks to the victory, the Northeast Conference (NEC) finishes the season a perfect 2-0 against Conference USA (C-USA) as LIU Brooklyn bested Rice last week.

* It was also the Seahawks' first win against a current member of the C-USA, while avenging three previous losses.

* The Green & White also picked up its first-ever victory against a team from Texas in just its second-ever game against a school that was affiliated with the C-USA at the time of their match-up.

* Wagner improves to 5-1 on the year when holding teams to less than 40 percent shooting and 29-1 over the last two years when leading with five minutes to go.

* The Seahawks have now won three-straight games while SMU has lost three-straight following an 8-1 start.

* Moody blocked a career-high six shots while Fanning notched double-figures for the second time this year with 11 points.

* Wagner will now square off in a heavily anticipated rematch of last year's Cable Car Championship with Santa Clara. A year ago, the Seahawks bested the Broncos 64-62 for the Championship.

* Wagner College President Dr. Richard Guarasci and his wife Carin were in attendance along with approximately 50 Seahawk fans.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department, @WagnerHoops for news and updates on the men's basketball program and @bashirmason to follow the Seahawks' first-year head coach.