Both the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s men’s and women’s basketball teams jumped into Colonial Athletic Association conference play last week.
While the men’s team was able to win its conference opener on New Year’s Eve at home against Drexel, it dropped a close decision two days later against Northeastern, one of the conference’s top teams. Going into its road trip to Towson on Thursday, Jan. 7, the UNCW men’s team moved to 9-4 and 1-1 in CAA play.
The women’s team also hosted one of the top CAA squads for its conference opener on Sunday, Jan. 3, but wasn’t able to hold a second-half lead against Elon. The women’s team now stands at 4-8 and 0-1 in the conference as the Seahawks prepare to play at Delaware on Friday, Jan. 8.
A roaring crowd of nearly 4,000 and stingy press defense in the second half fueled a Seahawks comeback against Northeastern, but it was the Huskies that made the last-second play to take a 65-63 win over the UNCW men’s team on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Trask Coliseum.
The Seahawks men’s basketball team overcame a second-half deficit of 10 points to tie the game with five minutes left and guard Chris Flemmings hit a layup with 30 seconds left to tie the game again at 63 each. But Northeastern’s freshman forward Jeremy Miller took an inside dish for a layup with just one second left to take the win and quiet the boisterous Seahawks fans.
Flemmings led all Seahawk scorers with 17 and hit two consecutive three-point shots to bring UNCW even with Northeastern, the team from Boston that last year represented the conference in the NCAA tournament.
“This game came down to who had the ball at the last possession,” said UNCW coach Kevin Keatts. “We played hard. We made shots. I’m proud of my guys.”
With the win, Northeastern moved to 10-4 and 2-0 in the conference.
Keatts said the Seahawks played aggressively on defense on the last possession and that a miscue where guard Jordan Talley went for a steal instead of holding his position helped create the open pass for the final layup.
“He was trying to get the steal,” Keats said, noting the effort his players put forth.
Talley was visibly upset by the loss.
“I should have kept my man in front of me,” Talley intoned.
But Talley also made the assist for a layup that tied the game at 61 and was the second-leading UNCW scorer with 12 points. The Seahawks played for steals in the second half, with seven coming in time to power UNCW’s comeback from 10 points down 13 minutes left to play.
Accordingly, the Seahawks also had 18 fouls to the Huskies 10, which resulted in 16 Northeastern points from the free throw line, compared to UNCW’s eight.
“Our guys had some great shots and moved the ball around,” Keatts said. “We didn’t get to the line enough.”
The loss brought the men’s team record to even in the conference after UNCW surged past Drexel 75-63 on Dec. 31, 2015. Flemmings again led the team in scoring with 17 points, as he was one of four Seahawks scoring in double figures on the team’s way to what was then its fourth-straight win. Flemmings scored 15 of his points from the free throw line.
In another highlight for the team, freshman guard C.J. Bryce has now twice been named the CAA Rookie-of-the-Week. He first won the honor on Nov. 30, 2015, and took it again about a month later after UNCW won both of its games at the Billy Minardi Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, where he averaged 14.5 points and seven rebounds over the two games.
Though the UNCW women’s team is facing some adversity at 4-8, it’s continuing to get outstanding play from junior forward Jordan Henry, who notched her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 67-60 loss to Elon. Junior guard Jasmine Steele led the Seahawks with 13 points against the Phoenix.
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