Seton Hall escaped with a 68-61 victory vs. Wagner on Friday night from South Orange, N.J.

Stephon Payne III was instrumental for Seton Hall (2-0) in the second half on both ends of the court. Payne had an emphatic two-handed block with just under a minute left in the game.

Wagner (0-2) hung around until late but missed three of its last four free-throw attempts with under 35 seconds remaining to stymie any chance for a comeback. John Awoke finished with six 3-pointers in the loss for Wagner.

After Zavier Fitch and Awoke sank 3-pointers to reduce Wagner's deficit to 62-58, Adam Clark made two free throws to put Seton Hall up by six.

Earlier, a Clark steal and coast-to-coast layup extended Seton Hall's lead to 60-52.

Payne denied Bineal Basil at the rim and on the next possession score

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