Wagner Hands an Upset Loss to Merrimack To Become the NEC Champions After Two Decades

This year’s NCAA tournaments have been a rollercoaster ride with some very unexpected twists. Walking off the floor with the trophy in their hands, No. 6 seed Wagner hands over an upset loss to the No. 1 seed Merrimack tonight. This NEC title victory broke their dry spell since 2003. On top of that, they now match the 1999 record of the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers to win the league trophy with six or worse seed.

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The not-so-freshly-minted head coach Donald Copeland talked about the unanticipated victory and his emotional breakdown on the floor with ‘The Field of 68: After Dark.” He said, “I forgot I got emotional. But I’m all over the place. That was just a product of everything. You know what this team has been through.”

Continuing, the former assistant coach of Wagner said, “I didn’t know if I celebrated or cried. I obviously did cry but I feel great. I’m proud of this group. I’m proud of the support staff.” He then talked about what winning the last three games was like. Donald said, “It’s been great. But honestly, we approached it like any other game all season long in conference play.”

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The head coach also added about the harder times through the journey saying, “We’ve had tough close losses. And these games that we’ve won and have gone the other way. So, we approached them like just any other game.”

Copeland also talked about his strategies with the team that did not even include talking about the road. He mentioned that the team only talked about the opponent and prepared for the last 3-4 minutes of the game which mattered more. It is truly exceptional what this team has achieved in the last few days. Here is how they took over Merrimack’s castle.

How did the Wagner Seahawks hand their host an upset NEC loss?ADVERTISEMENT

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Even though they were running at a 16-15, the Seahawks displayed superb control over the floor in their away game. In fact, their defense kept the Warriors from shooting their shots and limited them to the perimeter. The nationally eighth-ranking team that allows 62.6 ppg to their opponents, kept the Merrimack dreaming for the score.

The Warriors also could not play well as they only made 10 of 38 attempts on 3-pointers. Their overall shooting was also only 30% tonight. Contrasting the hosts, Wagner packed its best game with a decent 45% accuracy.

The crowd at the Lawler Arena was undeniably in for a surprise as they watched their home team lose with a huge difference to a No. 6 seed. It will be interesting to watch how far the Wagner Seahawks will go with their impressive and astonishing game.

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Did you believe they will win over the Warriors in this NEC battle?