Wagner tops Robert Morris 75-64, heads to NEC finals
NEW YORK (AP) — JoJo Cooper scored 20 points with six assists, Romone Saunders added 18 points, and top-seeded Wagner beat No. 7 seed Robert Morris 75-64 in Saturday’s Northeast Conference semifinal.
The Seahawks (23-8) will host fourth-seeded LIU in Tuesday’s championship game.
Blake Francis added 15 points with three 3-pointers for Wagner, which shot 51 percent from the field and held the Colonials (16-17) to 39 percent.
Cooper’s free throws put Wagner up for good and sparked a 10-0 run capped by his 3 for a 20-10 lead. The Colonials hit three straight 3s to close to 36-29, but the Seahawks led 39-29 at halftime on Francis’ 3 off a steal. They shot 54 percent.
Saunders scored 10 straight points with two 3s and Wagner led 61-47 with 6:29 left. Matty McConnell hit back-to-back 3s and the Colonials closed to 69-62 with 1:34 to go, but turned it over twice and missed three of four field goals from there.
Dachon Burke scored 18 points for Robert Morris (16-17) for his 30th double-figure scoring game, tying a sophomore school record set by Myron Walker in 1991-92. McConnell scored 17 points with five 3s, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals.