Sophomore Darian Anderson had 28 points, six rebounds and five assists, leading Fairleigh Dickinson to an 87-79 victory over host Wagner in the championship game of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, N.Y.

Sophomore Earl Potts Jr. had 27 points and seven rebounds for the second-seeded Knights (18-14), who secured their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2005.

Sophomore guard Corey Henson scored 24 points for the top-seeded Seahawks (22-10). Junior guard Michael Carey had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Mike Aaman had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Wagner jumped out to a 13-2 lead and later went up 21-11. The Seahawks led 31-20 with 3:35 left in the opening period, but Fairleigh Dickinson ended the half with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to two.

The Knights tied the game early in the second half and went up 38-37 on a 3-pointer by Anderson. The Knights were clinging to a 62-59 advantage with six minutes remaining, but they staged an 11-1 run to take a 73-60 lead. The Seahawks cut the deficit to six with 2:20 left, but they couldn't get any closer.