Ukele’s pick lifts Bryant past Wagner, 14-10 in NEC finale

NEW YORK -- Richard Ukele snared a tipped fourth-quarter pass and returned it 17 yards to complete Bryant’s second-half comeback for a 14-10 win over Wagner in the season finale for both schools Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs finished their season with back-to-back wins to finish 4-8 overall, 3-4 in the Northeast Conference. Wagner finished 1-11 overall, 1-6 in conference.

The Seahawks built a 10-0 lead in the first half. Joshua DeCambre pulled in a 19-yard pass from Christian Alexander-Stevens in the first quarter and Eric Silvester kicked a 49-yard field goal to start the second.

Bryant took the second-half kick and marched 90 yards in 10 plays. Daniel Adeboboye punched over from a yard out to cut the deficit to 10-7.

Alexander-Stevens attempted a pass deep in his own territory that was tipped in the backfield. Ukele broke off coverage and snared the ball in the air and raced to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 11:44 left in the game.

Bryant had just 11 first downs, was 2 of 10 in third-down efficiency, and managed just 177 yards of total offense. Wagner controlled the football for 10 minutes more than the Bulldogs and had 260 yards of total offense but committed two turnovers.