Wilmington, NC – The UNCW men’s basketball team returns to Trask Coliseum for only the second time this season on Monday when NCAA Division II Mount Olive kicks off a busy Thanksgiving week for the Seahawks.
UNCW, 1-3, takes on UMO, 1-4, in a 7 p.m. tip. The matchup may be heard on 95.9 FM The Breeze, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer on the call, beginning at 6:45 p.m. The game will be produced by the Seahawk Digital Network and carried on FloSports.
Monday is the annual “Toys for Tots” game at Trask Coliseum. Fans who bring a new, unwrapped toy to the UNCW Athletics Ticket Office earlier in the day can purchase a ticket for $10.
Following Monday’s tilt, the Seahawks leave Wednesday to compete in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship next weekend, Nov. 25-27, 2022, at the Baha Mar Resort Convention Center in The Bahamas.
“Mount Olive is a well-coached team that will present a lot of challenges for us,” said Takayo Siddle, UNCW’s third-year head coach. “They are smaller and quicker at each position. Containing the ball, defensive rebounding and getting 50/50 balls will be areas of focus during the game.
“In-game experience is something that our group needs more than anything right now, so we are looking forward to getting back on the floor and growing as a team.”
Siddle’s unit is coming off a rigorous stretch of games to open the new campaign. The early-season gauntlet included clashes at high major opponents North Carolina, Oklahoma and UConn in a span of 11 days.
Through four games, guards Trazarien White and Shykeim Phillips are providing the bulk of the scoring. White, from Mansfield, Texas, is averaging a team-leading 14.3 ppg, while Phillips, a Second-Team All-CAA preseason pick from Winterville, N.C., is collecting 11.3 ppg.
The Seahawks are shooting 40.1 percent from the floor, 25.6 percent behind the arc and 68.6 percent at the free throw line after four outings. UNCW has been limited to 53 and 50 points in its last two appearances at OU and UConn.
The Seahawks are playing the fifth of nine games in the opening month of the season – with seven away from home.
The Seahawks are playing the second of nine games against seven North Carolina opponents on Monday.
UMO and new head coach Dory Hines head down to the coast following a busy weekend. The Trojans played back-to-back games in the 45-Second Classic, dropping a pair of close contests to Saint Augustine’s (80-77) and Coker (96-95) in Wilson, N.C. UMO’s lone win this season came against Shaw, 87-79, on Nov. 11.
