The Wagner Seahawks built a 17 point lead and looked like they were easily heading to the first round. Then, Howard came storming back to cut the lead to 1 with a Bryce Harris layup for the Bison. The Seahawks got fouled and Julian Brown pushed the lead to 3 points with just 14 seconds.

Howard came down the court, and Jordan Hairston missed a three-pointer. But Howard’s Marcus Dockery got the rebound and kicked it back out to Hairston, who missed a second three pointer, but Dockery came down with the ball again, desperately headed out to the three point line and fired a third desperation three pointer at the buzzer. But it missed as well and Wagner survives.

Can the NEC do it two years in a row? Last year, we all remember (some of us more than others) that Fairleigh Dickinson won in the play-in game and then two days later became the 2nd 16 seed to win against a 1 seed by beating Purdue. It seems like a tall task but I have learned not to count anything out in March. Welcome to the tournament – the Wagner Seahawks are the first to win in Dayton!