Wagner will go dancing for the first time in more than two decades.
The Seahawks became the first local college team to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 54-47 victory over Merrimack to capture the NEC title on Tuesday night in North Andover, Mass.
It marks the program’s second trip to the big dance and the first since 2003 when Wagner made it as a 15 seed, only to get eliminated in the first round by Pittsburgh.
The conference title and tournament appearance comes in head coach Donald Copeland’s second year leading the program and as the Seahawks played with just seven healthy players.
Wagner tied for the lowest conference seed — sixth — to ever capture the league tournament crown and it marked the first time since 2005 that a seed that low had even reached the championship game.
The scene inside Lawler Arena was one of elation as fans of the tiny Staten Island-based college counted down the closing seconds and then the players mobbed one another in celebration across from the team bench.
Wagner led for a majority of the night, but Merrimack made things interesting midway through the second half when it erased a 10-point Wagner lead with 8:07 left off a 3-point shot from sophomore forward Bryan Etumnu.
That shot gave the Warriors a brief lead, but a free throw by Wagner guard Tahron Allen and a jumper from guard Javier Ezquerra put the Seahawks back in front for good.
Wagner finished the game on a 10-4 run after it regained the lead.
Allen finished with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and an assist.
Melvin Council Jr. had 12 points and pulled down four boards.
Wagner shot 22 of 49 and led for a total of 29:44, its largest lead a 41-30 advantage in the second half.
Wagner could easily have been nicknamed the road warriors during this year’s NEC tournament given it had to play entirely away from Staten Island, traveling to Sacred Heart for the quarterfinals and then to Central Connecticut State for the semifinals.
The Seahawks went 16-15 during the regular season and finished with a 7-9 conference record, which included an ugly loss to Merrimack at home.
Council told The Post prior to Tuesday’s game that Wagner was ready to “get to beat them on their home floor.”
Reyne Smith scored eight of his 23 points in overtime and finished with six 3-pointers, and top-seeded Charleston (27-7) beat No. 7 seed Stony Brook (20-15) 82-79 on Tuesday night to claim the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament and an NCAA bid for a second straight season.