Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team outscored Wagner, 46-17, in the second half and turned a 13-point deficit into a 74-52 victory Saturday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center that bumps the Colonials into sole possession of first place in the Northeast Conference.

RMU established a new school record with its 11th straight victory with the win and improved to 23-6 overall and 14-2 in league play, while the Seahawks fell to 20-7 and 13-3.      

Wagner had built a 35-22 advantage after a jumper from Mark Porter at the 2:34 mark of the first half, but three-pointers from junior guards Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) and Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) closed RMU's deficit at the break to 35-28.

The Colonials continued their marksmanship from long range in the second half, as Francisco opened the scoring after halftime with a three-pointer and sophomore guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) hit a jumper to pull Robert Morris within two, 35-33.    

Durell Vinson, who recorded his 25th career double-double with 16 points and 15 boards, gave the Seahawks a 37-33 edge with a jumper, but Francisco came back to again get the Colonials within two, 37-35, with a layup off an offensive rebound. Vinson missed a layup on Wagner's next possession, and Langhurst gave RMU its first lead of the game, 38-37, with a three-pointer.   

The Seahawks countered with a three-pointer from Joey Mundweiler to take back the advantage, 40-38, and a pair of Porter free throws after a technical on the RMU bench gave Wagner a 42-39 edge.

Senior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) tied the game at 42-42 with a three-pointer, which started Robert Morris on a 17-6 surge to extend its lead to 56-48 with 10:25 remaining. Sophomore guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) scored five points, while senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) added four.    

The lead eventually swelled to 69-50 with 3:24 to play after back-to-back three-pointers from Langhurst and Lee, and Jackson's old-fashion three-point play with 53 seconds to go accounted for the final score.   

Robert Morris received a balanced attack, as six players scored in double figures. Jackson and Lee each finished with 15 points, while Francisco added 13 and Langhurst, Chappell and Nwigwe 10 each. Jackson and Chappell each added seven rebounds, while Lee recorded eight assists. 

Despite Vinson's 16 points and 15 rebounds, no other Seahawk reached double figures scoring, as Porter and Jamal Smith each contributed nine points and Mundweiler eight. Porter and Mundweiler combined to shoot just 5-for-21 from the floor, including 2-for-14 from beyond the arc.