DAYTON, Ohio -- Melvin Council Jr. scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the first half and Wagner held off a furious charge from Howard to capture its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, 71-68, on Tuesday night.

Julian Brown added 15 points and Keyontae Lewis and Tahron Allen chipped in 10 points apiece for Wagner (17-15) in the opener of the annual First Four at the University of Dayton.

Brown sank both ends of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 14 seconds remaining to extend Wagner's lead to three points. Howard missed three chances at a game-tying 3, including Marcus Dockery's attempt that hit the rim as time expired.

Sixteenth-seeded Wagner, which was the 68th and final team in the NCAA Tournament field, advances to play West Region top seed North Carolina on Thursday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C. This is the Seahawks' second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the other coming in 2003.

Howard (18-17), which entered the game having won seven of eight, was led by Seth Towns and Bryce Harris, each with 16 points. The Bison used a late 14-2 run to pull within 69-68 with 17 seconds left.

Trailing by 13 with 4:26 left, Howard began its charge, cutting the deficit to 67-60 with 2:27 remaining on consecutive 3-pointers from Dockery and Towns.

After Allen lost the ball out of bounds, Harris drove into the paint and was fouled. He made both free throws with 1:48 left and Howard was within five, 67-62. But Council drove to the basket on the next possession, hit a bank shot and was fouled.

However, Council missed the ensuing free throw.

Isiah Warfield made a layup to get the Bison within five again, and then he capitalized on a steal by Dockery for another layup to make it 69-66 with 1:02 to play.

After Council missed a jumper with 32 seconds left, Harris drove and converted a layup to cut the Seahawks' lead to one, 69-68, with 17 seconds remaining.

--By Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media