WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Senior guard T.J. Carter poured in 11 points in a 5:30 stretch late in the second half to propel UNC Wilmington over Northeastern, 77-69, in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball contest Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum.
The Seahawks extended their winning streak to three games and improved to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the CAA. The Huskies lost for the third time in four games to fall to 7-11 and 3-5.
Carter and backcourt mate Daniel Fountain shared the scoring lead for the Seahawks with 17 points apiece. Senior center Vladimir Kuljanin added 14 points and senior forward Todd Hendley had 11 to give the Seahawks four in double figures for the ninth time this season.
Sophomore guard Matt Janning paced the Huskies with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 behind the arc. Sophomore forward Manny Adako, freshman forward Vinny Lima and freshman guard Baptiste Bataille each chipped in 10 points for NU.
UNCW, which shot 72.2 percent in the second half and 60.0 percent for the game, turned an early nine-point deficit into a 35-25 halftime lead and kept up the pressure at the beginning of the second period. After NU sliced the deficit to seven points, 38-31, on a turnaround jumper by freshman forward Nkem Ojouboh at 16:14, the Seahawks stretched the lead back to 12 points, 48-36, on a putback by Hendley at 12:05.
The Huskies chopped away at the margin and closed to within 48-44 on a 3-pointer by reserve forward Eugene Spates with 9:45 left. But Carter took over, scoring 11 points in 5:30 span as the Seahawks gained enough breathing room to improve to 7-2 at home this season.
With NU trailing 48-44, Carter converted a conventional three-point play with 7:11 showing and after Adako scored in the paint, he added another three-point play and a triple to push the lead to nine points with four minutes left.
NU came out strong early and raced to a 12-5 lead when Adako connected along the left elbow at 16:06. UNCW then scored six of the next eight points before the Huskies reeled off seven unanswered points for their largest lead of the half, 21-12, on a dunk by Ojougboh with 10:45 remaining.
But UNCW put the defensive clamps on the Huskies the rest of the half, outscoring NU, 23-4, over the final 10 minutes for a 35-25 halftime cushion. Reserve guard Marlo Davis started a 14-0 UNCW run with a steal and layup at 9:17 and a nifty layup by Kuljanin capped the spurt, giving the Seahawks a 27-21 advantage at 2:04.
Kuljanin later added another bucket with two seconds left to give the Seahawks, who shot 51.9 percent in the opening period, a 10-point bulge at the break. Carter was held scoreless in the first half, but Fountain picked up the slack by scoring 15 points on 5-for-7 behind the arc to lead the Seahawks. He was held without a shot in the final 20 minutes of play.
The Seahawks wrap up a brief two-game homestand Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. tipoff against George Mason. The Huskies, meanwhile, return home Saturday to entertain Hofstra in a 1 p.m. start.
GAME NOTES: Senior center Vladimir Kuljanin has his string of three consecutive double-doubles snapped when he gathered eight rebounds...UNCW shot better than 50 percent from the field for the 10th time in 20 games...The Seahawks, the CAA's top free throw shooting team, made 16-of-19 at the charity stripe...UNCW improved to 3-1 lifetime against Northeastern...Junior guard Marlo Davis came off the bench to score for the first time in eight games (5 points)...Kuljanin, Carter and Hendley each had eight field goal attempts in the game...Carter had five assists to lead the team in that category for the 12th time this season...UNCW has won three straight home games since a 72-55 defeat vs. UNC Greensboro on Dec. 29...The Seahawks have 11 games remaining, including six at Trask Coliseum.
