Till Gloger’s layup with 14:18 remaining gave the University of Maine men’s basketball its first lead of the game on Saturday afternoon.
Rather than build the advantage, it was host Wagner that seized the momentum.
The Seahawks outscored the Black Bears 21-3 during the next seven minutes, pulling away for an 87-73 victory at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, New York.
Coach Bob Walsh’s Black Bears fell to 0-3 on the young season, while Wagner earned its first win in three games.
Corey Henson tossed in 24 points, including an 11-for-11 effort from the foul line, to spark Wagner. He also provided seven assists.
Dwaun Anderson finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, Michael Carey posted 11 points and seven rebounds and Japhet Kadji added nine points for the Seahawks, who shot 46 percent from the field (28-for-61) and converted 23 of 32 free throws (72 percent).
Freshman Issac Vann tossed in a career-best 28 points, going 8-for-12 from the floor and 9-for-12 from the foul line for UMaine. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Classmate Lavar Harewood connected for 14 points with six rebounds and Devine Eke chipped in with nine points. The Black Bears shot 43 percent (22-for-51) but missed 14 of 37 free throws (62 percent) and went only 6-for-21 from the 3-point arc.
Wagner scored 21 points off 17 UMaine turnovers, while the Bears had 16 points as the result of 18 Seahawk miscues.
Henson wasted no time putting the hosts back in front with a layup and free throw at the 13:57 mark. The Seahawks continued the run with two Mike Aaman foul shots, a layup by Anderson and 3-pointers from Henson and Kadji that made it 67-56 with 11:11 left.
Harewood ended a UMaine scoring drought of more than four minutes with a layup at the 10:22 mark, but the hosts sandwiched Kadji’s layup and two Henson free throws around a Garet Beal foul shot to push the lead to 12.
The Black Bears went 2-for-6 from the field and committed four turnovers during that decisive stretch.
Wagner led by as many as 12 points (23-11) in the first half, but the Black Bears ended the half on an 18-10 run to battle back within 44-41 at intermission.
Vann connected for 12 points and Harewood provided seven during the UMaine resurgence.
The Black Bears make their regular-season home debut Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against Longwood at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. It is part of a doubleheader with the women’s team, which faces Central Connecticut at noon.