Wagner surges past LIU Brooklyn 81-65 in NEC tourney

NEW YORK (AP) Michael Carey scored a career-high 28 points with 10 rebounds and Wagner pulled away from LIU Brooklyn 81-65 on Saturday in a Northeast Conference tournament semifinal.

The top-seeded Seahawks (22-9) will face No. 2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (17-14), winners over fifth-seed Mount Saint Mary's, in Tuesday's championship game.

It was tied at 43 after 6 1/2 minutes of the second half. Wagner then took over - during a 7:25 stretch they outscored the Blackbirds 18-7, started by a 3-pointer by Carey - and an 8-3 spurt late put Wagner up 77-61 with 1:58 to go.

Romone Saunders scored 18 points with seven boards and three steals for Wagner, while Corey Henson added 12 points.

Sixth-seeded LIU Brooklyn (16-15) was led by Joel Hernandez with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jerome Frink added 14 points and eight boards. The Blackbirds were just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc.