Wagner now gets chance to be Cinderella after nabbing March Madness win that mattered most
DAYTON, Ohio — On this floor, in this arena, on this night, big dreams can begin even for little schools in the First Four.
And the Wagner College Seahawks dared to dream them.
They won the NEC Tournament when no one believed they could, because how could an injury-ravaged team with seven players and a coach who was fearful of contact practices possibly survive and advance all the way to this First Four against Howard?
Donald Copeland’s Seahawks needed only 40 more minutes of March magic to get them to Charlotte to face North Carolina, 16 versus 1 in the West Region, on Thursday.
This was their chance to make history. Their chance to be the first Wagner team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament after waiting 21 years for a second chance. Their chance to put Staten Island on the map.
Boy oh boy, they sure did.
Meet Wagnerella!!
They played with no fear, these improbable champions of the NEC, and danced past Howard, 71-68.
Racehorse baller Melvin Council Jr. (21 points, seven assists) was the star. But all of them were, stars, really. All seven Wagner Seahawks.
None of whom will fear mighty North Carolina.
“They’re a great team, one of the best teams in the country. … I’m not taking anything from them,” Julian Brown, who added 15 points, told The Post. “But to be honest, we don’t care what the name is, we’re gonna play our brand of basketball. We’re gonna come in there, and we’re gonna do what we do, win or lose. At the end of the day, we got confidence going into that game. And to be honest, we’re gonna put our toughness brand on display, regardless of the team that we play.”
Council played all 40 minutes. Brown played all 40 minutes. Javier Ezquerra (eight assists, two turnovers) played all 40 minutes. On the podium with Ezquerra, Council smiled and said: “This guy right here told me to drink a lot of water because I like to drink Gatorade.”
The first Seahawks out of the locker room wore green hoodies covering their heads with MADE FOR THIS in white on their chest. Their wounded brothers wore black and stood near mid-court and watched the final warm-ups. The lights dimmed for introductions, illuminating MARCH MADNESS in white letters across the center of the court.
Wagner plays its games at the Spiro Sports Center, capacity 2,100. This was different at UD Arena, capacity 13,409. So much more exposure.
Hickory High versus Hickory High. Cinderella meets Cinderella. One keeps the glass slipper for its One Shining Moment. One goes home, barefoot.
Toughness would carry the Seahawks. Toughness and their giant heart. They hadn’t had a contact practice since Dec. 27. Seven Ironmen were all they had. Seven Ironmen were all they would need.
“The culture is in place,” Copeland said.
After 10 minutes, Wagner (17-15) had built an 11-point lead.
Could its Ironmen last for 30 more minutes?
The lead would swelled to 17. By intermission, Howard had closed to within 38-27.
Could the Wagner Ironmen last for 20 more minutes?
A Keyontae Lewis follow made it 48-31 and Bison head coach Kenny Blakeney called timeout with 16:22 left, and as Council walked back to the sideline, he looked up into the stands and implored the Wagner crowd to cheer.
Howard fought back.
With 10 minutes to go, it was Wagner 59, Howard 47.
Could the Wagner Ironmen last for these last 10 minutes?
Back-to-back 3s by Marcus Dockery and Seth Towns had Copeland calling time with 2:24 left. Wagner 67, Howard 60.
Tahron Allen lost the ball out of bounds. Bryce Harris sank a pair of free throws.
Wagner 67, Howard 62, 1:48 left.
Council banked one in from the left side, missed the and-1 and goaltended at the other end.
A Howard steal led to an Isiah Warfield lay-in and it was 69-66.
Wagner called time with 1:02 left.
Council missed a fall-away jumper.
Harris drove to make it 69-68 and Howard called timeout.
Seventeen seconds left.
Brown, fouled in the backcourt, went to the line for a 1-and-1.
Less than 15 seconds left.
“I was nervous, but I was confident in making those shots,” Brown said. “I practice those a thousand times a day, so that’s just another free throw to me. Coach had confidence in me to make that shot and I told him before the timeout was over, ‘Give me the ball, I’m gonna ice this game.’ ”
He sank the first.
“He’s built for these moments,” Ezquerra said.
Sank the second.
“We always expect to win,” Brown said.
Howard missed three desperation 3s and it was over.
“It’s huge for the school, the program and these guys that have gone through so much to continue to write their own season the way they needed to,” a proud Copeland said.
Survived and advanced.
“We’re not satisfied,” Brown said.
Dance, Wagnerella, dance.
