Men's Basketball Drops Wagner, 59-55

(boxscore)

1/10/05 -- Sophomore Esa Maki-Tulokas (Forssa, Finland) scored a season-high 17 points to lead Long Island University to a 59-55 triumph over Wagner College in Northeast Conference men’s basketball action on Monday evening at Schwartz Center. The victory ended a four-game skid for the Blackbirds (5-7, 2-1 NEC).

Sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) tallied 14 points. Sophomore Evan Meekins (E. Providence, R.I.) and freshman Randy Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) contributed 10 points apiece.

For the Seahawks (1-12, 0-4 NEC), senior Sean Munson contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.

A 3-pointer by Evan Meekins gave the Blackbirds a 21-6 advantage to open the game. Five of LIU’s first eight field goals were from behind the arc. The Seahawks countered, reeling off a 14-7 spurt to cut the advantage to 28-20 on a trifecta from Mark Porter.

LIU spun off a 10-2 run to close the half, opening up a 38-22 lead. Meekins accounted for five of the team’s final 10 points.

The Blackbirds jumped out to a 44-26 lead on a lay-up from Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) at the 17:36 mark. Munson initiated a 21-0 run on the next play, capped by a 3-pointer from Matt Vitale at the 8:30 mark which gave the Seahawks their first lead, 47-44.

Meekins ended a 9:34 Blackbirds scoring drought with his third triple of the game, tying the contest at 47-47 with 8:02 showing.

An offensive putback by Porter pulled Wagner to within a point, 54-53 with 3:47 to play but it would be as close as the visitors would get.

The Blackbirds continues their three-game homestand on Wednesday, January 12, hosting St. Francis (NY) at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on the MSG Network.