Mount St. Mary's saw its late rally come up just short in a 71-66 loss at Wagner on Saturday afternoon.
Rashad Whack paced the Mountaineers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his second career double-double.
Trailing 62-49 with 4:04 remaining, the Mountaineers (11-15, 7-6 NEC) hit 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 64-61 with 1:40 on the clock. Sam Prescott and Whack started the run with back-to-back 3s. After a pair of Kenneth Ortiz free throws, Byron Ashe drilled another 3-pointer, and the Mount's Julian Norfleet connected from deep on the next possession to cut the deficit to three.
Ortiz, however, converted a tough drive to the basket with 1:06 left to push the Wagner (15-11, 9-4 NEC) advantage to 66-61. Whack hit 1 of 2 at the line on the other end for the Mount, but was countered by a pair of Marcus Burton free throws.
Norfleet added a pair of free throws for Mount St. Mary's with 24 seconds left, and Ortiz hit 1 of 2 at the other end to put Wagner up 69-64. Whack was then fouled with 18.5 seconds remaining, and he hit two free throws to make it a 69-66 game. Wagner's Latif Rivers was fouled going up the sideline, and he hit both shots for the final margin of 71-66. The Mount's Norfleet missed a three-pointer with nine seconds left, and Wagner got the rebound and dribbled out the clock.
Norfleet and Prescott added 14 points each in the loss while Ashe chipped in eight points.
Norfleet dished out a game-high six assists for the Mount as well.
Ortiz led all scorers with 21 points while chipping in seven rebounds and four assists for the Seahawks. Rivers added 14 points and Dwaun Anderson 12 in the victory.
The Mountaineers have clinched a spot in the eight-team Northeast Conference Tournament.
Mount St. Mary's returns home to face Bryant on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
The game is second half of a doubleheader with the Mount women's team hosting Saint Francis University at 6 p.m.
