While this January weather may have brought a chill to the Wilmington area, it hasn’t reached several of the area college basketball teams, three of which are supporting winning streaks that stand to put them in title contention.
Perhaps no local team is hotter than the Cape Fear Community College women’s basketball team, which has now won 15 in a row after dropping its season opener.
The Sea Devils, ranked 15th nationally, earned their most recent victory at the hands of a game at Catawba Valley Community College on Sunday, Jan. 24, which held CFCC to its second-lowest scoring margin of the year in a 61-59 overtime battle.
“We had to grind this one out,” said CFCC coach Chris Harris. “Give Catawba credit for not going away easy. I thought we had good energy at the beginning and just could not keep it up consistently throughout.”
The Sea Devils were led in the overtime period by Monica Alexander, who scored 5 points in the extra period to bring her point totals for the day to 17. Sophomore forward Jasmine Brown is leading CFCC this season with 12.9 points per game, while freshman forward Destiny Campbell is adding 11.5 points per game for the Sea Devils.
The Sea Devils will take their 7-1 mark in Region 10 play on the road with back-to-back games against Guilford Tech and Patrick Henry Community College on Jan. 30 and 31.
The women aren’t the only team on the CFCC campus having a successful run, as the men’s team moved their winning streak to eight in a row after it defeated Brunswick Community College 83-69 on Friday, Jan. 22 at the Schwartz Center.
“We showed some really good flashes defensively tonight,” said CFCC coach Ryan Mantlo. “It helped spark some runs. We’re happy to get a big conference win especially at home against our rival.”
In moving to 17-5, the Sea Devils are getting help across the board, as at least four players are sporting double-digit scoring averages for CFCC. Sophomore guard T.J. Evans leads the team with 15.7 points per game, while sophomore guard Michael Chambers is adding a scoring average of 13.4 points, freshman forward Alonzo Tyson contributes 13.2 points and sophomore forward Tyrek Coger is putting up 13.1 points.
The community college’s winning streak comes as the University of North Carolina Wilmington men’s basketball team piles up wins of its own. After defeating Drexel 77-71 in snowy Philadelphia on Sunday, Jan. 24, the Seahawks moved to 14-5 and grabbed a share of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings, alongside Hofstra and James Madison.
The Seahawks are on a five game winning streak and have been getting significant help from rookie C.J. Bryce, who on Jan. 25 was named the CAA’s rookie-of-the-week for the third time this season. Bryce, from Charleston, South Carolina, leads all CAA freshmen in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game. Bryce, who also won the award on Nov. 30 and Dec. 28, became only the second Seahawk to win CAA rookie-of-the-week honors three times in a season, joining Chad Tomko from the 2007-2008 season.
“I’m extremely excited about C.J.’s early success,” said UNCW second-year coach Kevin Keatts. “He is a very talented young man who competes and works hard every day.”
The Seahawks will travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia to face James Madison on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. and host Charleston at Trask Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
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