WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Freshman point guard Chad Tomko scored 16 points to lead five players in double figures as UNC Wilmington pulled into a four-way tie for second place in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 61-58 victory over rival George Mason in men's basketball Saturday night at Trask Coliseum.
The Seahawks won their fourth straight game to improve to 13-8 overall and 6-3 in the CAA. UNCW moved into a logjam with the Patriots, William & Mary and Delaware behind frontrunner VCU at 8-1.
GMU had its four-game winning streak snapped and now stands 14-6 and 6-3, falling for the 10th time in 11 appearances at Trask Coliseum in Jim Larranaga's 11 seasons with the club.
Tomko, a 5-11, 165-pound water bug, went 4-for-7 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw in 31 minutes, committing just one turnover. Senior center Vladimir Kuljanin recorded his eighth double-double of the season and 16th of his career with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Senior guard T.J. Carter, senior guard Daniel Fountain and senior forward Todd Hendley chipped in 10 points apiece in a balanced scoring attack for the Seahawks.
Junior guard John Vaughn scored 19 points and senior guard Folarin Campbell collected 17 for the Patriots. Senior forward Will Thomas pulled down 14 boards, but was limited to six points on just 3-for-9 from the floor.
Trailing 47-41 with 12 minutes remaining, the Seahawks used a 13-0 run to pull ahead of the Patriots for good and then held on down the stretch to improve to 8-2 on their home floor.
Tomko fired in a pair of 3-pointers to ignite the decisive spurt for the Seahawks. The Charlotte, N.C., point guard drained his first one at 11:06 to slice the deficit to 47-44 and added another trey at 10:14 to pull the Seahawks even at 47-all.
Carter later capped the rally with a jumper at the free throw line to give the Seahawks a 54-47 lead with 6:47 remaining. Vaughn chopped the lead to 57-54 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 45 seconds left, but Tomko converted both ends of two bonus situations in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
GMU jumped out to a 30-25 lead at halftime after scoring the first six points of the game and using a 13-0 run to erase an early five-point deficit. The Patriots shot 51.9 percent from the floor, connecting on 14-for-27 overall, in the opening 20 minutes to take a five-point lead into intermission.
After Campbell drained his second triple at 17:55 to give GMU a 9-4 edge, UNCW rallied for a 23-18 advantage on Kuljanin's tip-in with 6:37 left in the first half.
GMU reeled off 13 unanswered points, however, behind four points apiece by Vaughn and reserve forward Vlad Moldoveanu. Dre Smith's trey from the left wing capped the 13-0 rally and gave the Patriots a 31-23 cushion at 2:38.
UNCW, the CAA's top shooting team from the floor and 3-point line, wound up making just 42.6 percent from the floor and only 5-for-21 behind the arc. The Seahawks countered those numbers with a season-low four turnovers and had 12 assists on 23 baskets.
The Seahawks embark on a three-game road Wednesday with a 7 p.m. start at Old Dominion. The Patriots return home to entertain league frontrunner VCU Wednesday at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The first foul of the game was not called until the 14:48 mark of the first period...The first four fouls of the contest were offensive fouls...The game was held up for eight minutes at the 13:42 mark of the first half when an overhead light above the east goal shattered...Kuljanin's 17 rebounds was his second highest of the season behind an 18-rebound effort in the season opener vs. the College of Charleston...UNCW has won four straight home games since a loss to UNC Greensboro on Dec. 29...The Seahawks went 10-for-13 at the charity stripe for 76.9 percent...Kuljanin came into the game leading the CAA in field goal percentage and didn't hurt himself, going 5-for-5 from the floor...Only 23 fouls were called in the contest...UNCW won its second straight over GMU and fifth in the last seven meetings against the Patriots.
