Wagner beats Central Connecticut 73-61 in NEC quarterfinal

Mar 1, 2018, 02:42 am

NEW YORK -- JoJo Cooper scored 20 points, Romone Saunders had 18 points and 10 rebounds and top-seeded Wagner beat No. 8 seed Central Connecticut 73-61 on Wednesday night in a Northeast Conference quarterfinal.

Wagner (22-8) will host a semifinal on Saturday against No. 7 seed Robert Morris (16-16), which upset second-seeded Mount Saint Mary's 60-56.

Cooper was 7-of-9 shooting and had seven assists. Saunders was 5 of 10 from the field and made three 3-pointers. Blake Francis added 17 points for the Seahawks, who have won four of their last five games.

Joe Hugley scored 22 points, Tyler Kohl added 15 points and Austin Nehls had 10 for Central Connecticut.

Francis and Elijah Davis made back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch Wagner's lead to 59-41 with 9:30 to play. The Blue Devils pulled to 64-58 with three minutes remaining, but Cooper scored five points and Saunders added four as the Seahawks closed the game on a 9-3 spurt.