STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - No comeback was needed this time, but the result was the same: Mount St. Mary's celebrating at mid-court as MSM coach Jamion Christian excitedly slapped hands with his assistants.
Three days after rallying from a 19-point deficit in the final nine minutes of the Northeast Conference tournament quarterfinals, the Mount used an 8-0 spurt over the final 89 seconds of the first half to take control and led throughout the second half, holding on for a 77-72 win Saturday over Wagner in the Spiro Center.
"We're really going to enjoy this," said Christian, whose NEC tournament record improved to 4-1.
Rashad Whack, whose 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds to play beat St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday, led a balanced attack with 21 points. Julian Norfleet had 16 points and seven assists and Sam Prescott's 16 points included some of the biggest baskets of the game.
The Mountaineers (15-16) are back in the NEC championship game for the second year in a row. They'll play at top-seeded Robert Morris Tuesday night in front of the ESPN cameras for the right to play in the NCAA tourney.
"It's just tremendous," Norfleet said.
And somewhat unexpected. The fourth-seeded Mountaineers had a comeback for the ages Wednesday, then had to go on the road against the hottest team in the league Saturday. To win, the Mount had to overcome foul trouble, a deficit throughout much of the first half, a raucous crowd, and a team that had won nine in a row.
"I think our guys have done a great job all season long of accepting challenges. Today, Wagner, what a challenge," Christian said. "We gave a punch, they gave us a punch, we battled back, it was a great college basketball game."
The Mount prevailed by shooting 50 percent from the field, going 6 for 7 from the foul line in the final 47 seconds, harassing Wagner into a rough shooting day, and forcing the Seahawks to play up-tempo.
"I was really excited about the tempo at the beginning of the game," Christian said. "I'm sure the fans watching it thought, man, this is really wild. But that's how we want it and that's how we've got to get them to play."
Wagner was the NEC's best defensive team this season, holding opponents to 39.1 percent from the field. Mount St. Mary's? Well, they finished last in that category. So the final stat sheet had both coaches a bit surprised.
"They were able to shoot 50 percent against us, which doesn't happen," said Wagner coach Bashir Mason.
Said Christian: "We held them to 42 percent from the floor and that doesn't happen very often."
Kenneth Ortiz scored 26 to lead the Seahawks (19-12), but missed a would-be tying 3-pointer with about 15 seconds left. The rest of Wagner shot a combined 18 of 45 from the field, including Latif Rivers' nightmarish 2-for-14 performance that prompted Christian to say of Whack, "He wasn't [NEC] Defensive Player of the Year, but he probably should have been."
The Mountaineers led early as Whack hit a 3-pointer to make it 5-2 and Norfleet another 3 to make it 9-6, but Wagner scored the next six points and led into the final minute of the first half. By that time, Norfleet was on the bench with three fouls and the Mount trailed 31-27.
But Whack scored on a drive, Gregory Graves (12 points, seven rebounds) and Byron Ashe made two free throws each, and a full-court pressing Prescott made a steal and a short jumper to make it 35-31 at halftime. The Mount then scored the first three points of the second half and eventually pushed the lead to 10 on three Whack free throws.
Marcus Burton (13 points) scored eight points and Mario Moody threw down a dunk to energize the crowd and make it a four-point game. But the Mount answered with a Graves dunk off a Norfleet alley-oop pass.
It seemed the Mount had an answer for everything down the stretch.
"We knew they're a good team so they're going to make their runs, we just stuck together and grinded it out," Prescott said.
In fact, his play in the late-going might've been the key. When Wagner pulled to within 49-48, he buried a 3-pointer from the right corner. When Wagner got it to 69-66, he drove the lane and scored. And when the Mount had the ball with less than a minute to play, clinging to a 71-70 advantage, Prescott drew a foul and made two free throws.
Whack went 4 for 5 from the line in the final 26.4 seconds to ice it and the Mountaineers were jumping in jubilation for the second time this week.
Seeking its first league championship since 2008, playing at the site of a heartbreaking 2009 NEC final loss, the Mount now will try to beat a Robert Morris squad that swept the regular-season series.
"Both teams will be excited. Championship game, NCAA berth on the line - it's going to really come down to which team understands the details better of the game plan," Christian said. "I trust my guys."
