DAYTON, Ohio — Soon after Wagner College kicked off March Madness with its first NCAA Tournament win in program history, a 71-68 decision vs. Howard University Tuesday night, Seahawks coach Donald Copeland couldn’t be happier as one can imagine.
“To have the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history, it’s huge,” said second-year Wagner coach Donald Copeland, whose Northeast Conference champion Seahawks (17-15) advanced as the No. 16 seed in the West Region and will play top seed North Carolina on Thursday. “It’s huge for the school, the program and these guys, man, that have gone through so much, man, to continue to build and continue to write their own season the way they needed to.”
Wagner’s Julian Brown (13) and Melvin Council Jr., left, dive for a loose ball as Howard’s Seth Towns watches during the first half of a First Four college basketball game in the men’s NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)AP
Melvin Council Jr. netted 21 points for the injury depleted Seahawks, who held off a late rally by Howard.
Howard trailed by 17 points early in the second half but went on a late 14-2 run, closing within 69-68 on Bryce Harris’ layup with 18 seconds left. After Julian Brown hit a pair of free throws for Wagner, Howard attempted three 3-pointers in the last 6 seconds but missed them all.
Wagner shot 52.7% overall and 47.1% (8 of 17) from 3-point range while holding Howard to 38.6% from the field.
“We still were able, I think, to get three great looks at the basket,” said Howard coach Kenny Blakeney, who won a national title as a player for Duke in 1992. “But sometimes the basketball gods are with you and sometimes they’re not.”
Allen and Keyontae Lewis finished with 10 points apiece as all seven Seahawks who entered the game scored. Wagner had only seven players available for all of conference play because of injuries.
“Having seven players, I would imagine some places, they might just come…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply