By Pete Janny
While Wagner started to find its flow on Wednesday night, interim head coach Dwan McMillan catalyzed with his unbridled energy and passion under the microscope of the biggest game of his young coaching career. The Seahawks took no prisoners in an emphatic second-half performance that helped produce a 70-60 result over 2-seeded Central Connecticut State University. With the win, Wagner clinched its spot in the NEC semifinals, where it will face #1 Long Island University on Saturday in Brooklyn.
In a hostile environment that was mostly silenced in the second half, Wagner was able to separate itself with the type of defensive effort that would be hard to surpass this time of year. Zavier Fitch had the assignment on CCSU star Darrin Smith Jr., holding the NEC’s leading scorer to just three field goal makes in the second half after he had an explosive first half with 18 points.
Overall, McMillan heaped praise on his unit for their consistency on the defensive end, which speaks volumes of this group’s connectivity. The team’s collective mindset on that end of the floor stumped the Blue Devils into a paltry 25 points in the second half.
“We did a really good job following the game plan to a tee,” said junior guard John Awoke, who supplied a team-high 18 points on 4-7 shooting from three. “Our coaching did a really good job making adjustments, and it worked.”
The second half adjustments included keeping CCSU off the three-point line. After allowing six threes in the first half, Wagner shut out the Blue Devils in that category over the last 20 minutes, ultimately helping spell the home team’s demise.
“They want to defend,” McMillan said adamantly. “And we believed we could do it.”
Wagner also won this game by establishing an edge inside, which translated to a 34-28 advantage for points in the paint. Binael Basil was brilliant on both ends of the floor and finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and two blocks. His rejection late in the second half on a dunk attempt by James Jones was another statement that further drained the life out of the CCSU fans.
Additionally, Awoke and Nick Jones displayed a ton of guts while torching CCSU from the mid-range and deep. The duo was clutch on their way to finishing with a combined tally of 35 points on 10-20 field goals and 6-9 three-pointers. Jones is still just a sophomore, but is an example of the newfound maturity in this team, which has a chance to sneak back into the NCAA Tournament if it could win two more games.
“Guys have been ascending with maturity, and got adjusted to the physicality,” McMillan said. “The connectivity is at a high level.”
After a 1-11 start from the field in this game, Wagner recovered nicely on the fly and even led for small stretches in the first half. However, it was CCSU that ended the first half on a high note, with Smith Jr. pouring in eight straight to help establish a four-point halftime lead.
Things shifted coming out of the locker room for the second half. Looking for Smith Jr. to carry them, CCSU didn’t receive nearly enough from others to get the job done—a total reversal from the Blue Devils’ prior two wins this season over Wagner, each by a margin of seven points. Wednesday night was one of those nights where too many clean looks didn’t fall against a team like Wagner that can physically wear you down.
All things considered, Patrick Sellers once again put the Blue Devils in a position for a favorable path in March. However, the last three seasons have each ended with a home loss, including the 2024 NEC semis against Wagner, which, 10 days later, won an NCAA Tournament game against Howard.
Ironically, the same result played out on Wednesday night.
On the other hand, a young team has decisively chosen to fight for an interim coach who was thrust into the spotlight amid the controversy over Donald Copeland. What began as a huge work in progress on Staten Island produced its first thrilling production on Wednesday night. Wagner lives to see another day, while CCSU’s hopes are crushed. Call it just another day in March.