The Wagner College Seahawks men’s basketball team defeated the Boston University Terriers at the buzzer, 60-58, Tuesday night at Case Gym.
“We were not able to put the game away,” BU head coach Joe Jones said. “The big thing was we struggled to guard them off the dribble in the second half.”
Wagner (2-3) junior guard R.J. Greene led the Seahawks with 19 points and eight rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double. Senior guard Javier Ezquerra recorded six assists, and senior guard Zaire Williams made a significant defensive impact for the Seahawks with five steals.
Sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander shined for BU (1-4) with 12 points, supported by senior forward Malcolm Chimezie’s eight rebounds and junior guard Ben Roy’s four assists.
The Terriers won the tip-off and quickly seized their opportunity, but an early turnover allowed the Seahawks to transition swiftly down the court.
Unfortunately for Wagner, Ezquerra’s 3-point attempt rimmed out. BU sophomore guard Michael McNair stole the ball to reverse the momentum and assisted junior forward Nico Nobili, who finished the play with a thunderous dunk at the 18:35 mark.
The Seahawks responded by scoring the next 4 points to take a 4-2 lead. However, Nobili’s layup, followed by Alexander’s 3-pointer, turned the tide back in favor of BU, putting them ahead 7-4 and prompting an early timeout from the Seahawks. Building on their momentum, the Terriers went on a 5-0 run before junior forward Keyontae Lewis put Wagner back on the board with a jumper.
Halfway through the first half, BU led by a score of 10-8. The Terriers continued to build their lead with back-to-back 3-pointers from McNair and Nobili.
Williams picked up his second steal of the night and sprinted toward the basket and drew a foul during the Seahawks’ 7-0 run before BU senior guard Ben Palacios hit the free-throw line.
BU entered halftime with a 5-point cushion, leading 25-20.
At the half, Nobili led the Terriers with 7 points, while Alexander contributed five rebounds.
For Wagner, Williams excelled in all statistical categories. He notched 7 points, 2 assists and 3 steals in the first half.
The Terriers struggled with five turnovers by the break.
“We have struggled against pressure,” Jones said. “We don’t look very comfortable right now, at times, playing against people like in our face, and we’ve got to get better at that.”
Once the second half commenced, Chimezie opened the scoring with a jumper, but Williams quickly answered with a 3-pointer.
Despite the Seahawks’ attempts to mount a comeback, freshman guard Azmar Abdullah’s 3-pointer pushed the Terriers’ lead to 44-37 halfway through the period. Ezquerra’s layup brought the Seahawks within 3 points as they clawed back into contention. Palacios and Alexander responded with a series of crucial 3-pointers, boosting BU’s lead to 50-41 with only five minutes left in the game.
As the clock wound down, Williams found his rhythm and made two free throws before draining a 3-pointer from the left side of the court, cutting the Terriers’ lead to 52-49.
The Seahawks added to the intensity when senior forward Tyje Kelton hit a 3-pointer, narrowing the gap to just 1 point with under two minutes remaining.
The Terriers held a slight 58-56 lead as the clock ticked down.
With only 3.9 seconds remaining, Greene executed a crucial layup to tie the game –– and at the buzzer, Greene notched another layup and clinched the victory for the Seahawks in a contested matchup at Case Gym.
“It’s a game you’ve got to learn from,” Jones said. “These are tough lessons, when you’re going through a season and you’ve got a game that you feel like you deserved to have won, but you didn’t make the place to win it.”
The Terriers are set to face University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Saturday, Nov. 23, at noon in Baltimore.
