Wagner now gets chance to be Cinderella after nabbing March Madness win that mattered most

DAYTON, Ohio — On this floor, in this arena, on this night, big dreams can begin even for little schools in the First Four.

And the Wagner College Seahawks dared to dream them.

They won the NEC Tournament when no one believed they could, because how could an injury-ravaged team with seven players and a coach who was fearful of contact practices possibly survive and advance all the way to the First Four, where the Howard Bison dared to dream the same dream?

Donald Copeland’s Seahawks needed just 40 more minutes of March magic to get them to Charlotte to face North Carolina, 16 versus 1 in the West Region, on Thursday.

But this was their chance to make history. Their chance to be the first Wagner team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament after waiting 21 years for a second chance. Their chance to put Staten Island on the map.

Boy oh boy, they sure did.

Meet Wagnerella!!

They played with no fear, these determined champions of the NEC, and, despite a shaky finish, danced past Howard 71-68.

Melvin Council Jr. (21 points) was the star. But all of them were, stars, really. All seven Wagner Seahawks.

The first Seahawks out of locker room wore green hoodies covering their heads with MADE FOR THIS on their chest in white. Their wounded brothers wore black and stood near mid-court and watched the final warm-ups.

A member of the small contingent of Wagner fans shouted, “Let’s go Hawks, baby!” as tip-off neared. The lights dimmed for introductions, illuminating MARCH MADNESS in white letters across the center of the court.

Of course there had to be some NCAA jitters. How could there not be? Wagner plays its games at the Spiro Sports Center, capacity 2,100. This was different. Capacity 13,409. So much more exposure.

This was the play-in to what former Marquette coach Al McGuire branded the Big Dance. “You gotta wear the blue blazer when you go to the Big Dance,” McGuire said on his way to the national championship in 1977.

Facing Howard was Wagner’s national championship game. Hickory High versus Hickory High. Cinderella meets Cinderella. One keeps the glass slipper. For its One Shining Moment. One goes home. Barefoot.

Toughness would carry the Seahawks, remember? Toughness and their giant heart. Hadn’t had a live practice since Dec. 27. Seven Ironmen were all they had. Seven Ironmen were all they would need, right?

After 10 minutes, Wagner had built an 11-point lead.

Could its Ironmen last for 30 more minutes?

The lead would swelled to 17. By intermission, Howard had closed to within 38-27.

Could the Wagner Ironmen last for 20 more minutes? With 6-foot-7 Seck Zongo saddled with three fouls? Could Council continue to be the best player on the court?

A Keyontae Lewis follow made it 48-31 and Bison head coach Kenny Blakeney called timeout with 16:22 left, and as Council walked back to the sideline he looked up into the stands behind press row and implored the Wagner crowd to cheer.

Howard fought back.

The 6-4, 185-pound Council, with 6-9, 230-pound Seth Towns bodying him, went quiet.

With 10 minutes to go, it was Wagner 59, Howard 47.

Could the Wagner Ironmen last for these last 10 minutes?

Back-to-back 3s by Marcus Dockery and Towns had Copeland calling time with 2:24 left.

Wagner 67, Howard 60.

Tahron Allen lost the ball out of bounds. Bryce Harris sank a pair of free throws.

Wagner 67, Howard 62, 1:48 left.

Council banked one in from the left side, missed the and-one and goaltended at the other end.

A Howard steal led to an Isiah Warfield layin and it was 69-66.

Wagner called time with 1:02 left.

Council missed a fall-away jumper.

Bryce Harris drove to make it 69-68 and Howard called timeout.

Seventeen seconds left.

Julian Brown, fouled in the backcourt, went to the line for a 1-and-1.

Less than 15 seconds left.

He sank the first.

Sank the second.

Howard had three chances to tie it, but missed three open 3-pointers and it was over.

It was only a year ago when FDU routed Texas Southern at the UD Arena and a coach named Tobin Anderson two nights later, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, was saying this after the shortest team in the tournament, a 23-point underdog, had fashioned the greatest of all upsets over Purdue, 16 seed over 1 seed:

“If we played them 100 times, they’d probably beat us 99 times. Play them 100 times, we have one win. But tonight’s the one we had to be unique, we had to be unorthodox. We had to make it tough on them, just be different.”

The bubble burst and FDU didn’t make it from the First Four to the Final Four; but Shaka Smart and VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021 did.

Wagner won’t make it to the Final Four. The Final 64 was plenty good enough on Tuesday night.

Wagnerella keeps dancing.