Ford's 21 carries Wagner past Merrimack 64-59 for NEC title
NEW YORK -- — Elijah Ford had 21 points and 13 rebounds as Wagner narrowly beat Merrimack 64-59 on Wednesday to capture the Northeast Conference championship.
Will Martinez had 14 points and eight rebounds for Wagner (13-6, 13-5 Northeast Conference), which earned its sixth consecutive home victory. Nigel Jackson added 13 points. Alex Morales had eight rebounds.
The top-seeded Seahawks face Mount St. Mary's the the four-team tournament. No. 2 seed Bryant meets second heart in the other semifinal. The semifinals are on Saturday and the championship game is Tuesday.
Wagner won 12 of its last 13 games to earn its third title in six seasons and four
Ziggy Reid had 16 points for the Warriors (9-9, 9-9). Devin Jensen added 16 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Minor had 11 points.
The Seahawks improve to 2-0 against the Warriors this season. Wagner defeated Merrimack 74-67 on Tuesday.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
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2021-22 Northeast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner | 7-0 | - | 11-2 |
| Bryant | 6-1 | 1 | 9-8 |
| Merrimack | 4-3 | 3 | 8-11 |
| Long Island University | 4-3 | 3 | 7-10 |
| Mount St. Mary's | 3-4 | 4 | 7-10 |
| Sacred Heart | 3-4 | 4 | 7-11 |
| St. Francis (PA) | 2-5 | 5 | 6-12 |
| St. Francis (BKN) | 2-5 | 5 | 5-13 |
| Central Connecticut | 2-5 | 5 | 4-15 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 2-5 | 5 | 1-13 |