The men’s basketball team went on the road and once again experienced how difficult it is to win away from home in college basketball.

In the Bulldogs’ fifth road game of the young season, the team (2-5, 0-0 Ivy) lost its fourth away contest Saturday afternoon at Wagner (5-2), 83-74.

Ultimately, turnovers doomed the Elis — Yale committed 22, which led to 21 Seahawk points.

“We turned the ball over way too much,” guard Chris Andrews ’09 said. “They led to easy baskets for them, and I think that was the reason why we lost.”

Although the Bulldogs held a 29-27 rebounding advantage, the turnovers did not make it easier for the Yale defense. Wagner was able to tie a season-high of 83 points and also shot a season-high 60.4 percent from the field.

“I didn’t think they shot that well, even though the stats say differently,” captain Ross Morin ’09 said. “They just had a lot of fast-break layups due to our turnovers. I thought we played good half-court defense throughout.”

Yale began the game with a 15-7 lead five minutes into the first half, but the Seahawks were able to respond with a 12-1 run and never looked back.

The closest the Bulldogs got the rest of the way was 76-74 with 1:01 left in the contest after forward Travis Pinick ’09 was able to convert an old-fashioned three-point play. The Elis did not score again, however, and Wagner capped the game off with a 7-0 run.

The Bulldogs were led once again by guard Alex Zampier ’10. The shooting guard poured in 25 points on seven-of-12 shooting after a career-high 28 against Holy Cross (3-6) last week. The 25 points — 18 in the second half — upped his season average to a team-leading 16.7 points per game.

When asked if he feels he has become the team’s go-to scorer, Zampier replied, “I definitely think so,” and teammates agreed.

Zampier added, “Coach is running some plays for me and letting me do more offensively.”

“If he keeps playing like this, we’re going to keep giving him the ball,” Morin said. “What separates him from the rest of the team is that he can create his own offense extremely well.”

Morin added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds to complement Zampier. Point guard Porter Braswell ’11 and center Garrett Fiddler ’11 each contributed nine points.

A trio of Wagner scorers combined for 52 points to lead the Seahawks. Justin Drummond dropped in 18 points, while Joey Mundweiler and Jamal Smith each added 17. Wagner’s leading scorer Llewchean Radford was held to just eight points but was able to grab a game-high 13 rebounds for the hosts.

The close loss is yet another road defeat for an Eli team looking to learn how to win away from New Haven. Although Yale defeated Pac-10 member Oregon State (1-5) in Corvallis, Ore., the Bulldogs know there is much to improve on as they continue on their second long road stretch of the season.

“I think these road games are good to get used to for playing away from home before the Ivy League season starts,” Morin said. “Last year we didn’t play well on the road at all and we haven’t learned how to win on the road yet.”

For their next game, Yale will travel to battle Boston University (4-3) tonight. The Terriers are coming off an 84-80 home loss at the hands of Marshall (3-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.