WILMINGTON, N.C. ? It's time to grab the lunch pail and get back to work.

      That's the message Benny Moss is sending to his young club as the Seahawks go through final preparations for Saturday's Homecoming clash with James Madison after a stinging loss to Hofstra late Wednesday.

      The Seahawks, 5-17 overall and 2-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association, battle the Dukes at 7 p.m. in a rematch of a game won by the Dukes, 79-58, back on Jan. 14 in Harrisonburg.

      JMU, 13-9 and 5-5, suffered its second straight setback Wednesday in an 80-74 home loss to state rival Old Dominion.

      “Our guys have been resilient all year,” Moss said. “They've been through plenty of adversity, on and off the court. The game with Hofstra was a heartbreaker, but we've got to continue to emphasize the positives because we played well enough to win.”

      The Seahawks and Hofstra locked horns in a back-and-forth struggle that featured 13 ties and an eye-popping 24 lead changes. The Pride eventually won on a buzzer-beating layup by Arminas Urbutis, who scooped up a rebound and banked it off the glass to silence the Trask Coliseum faithful.

      “We just didn't do a few of the little things down the stretch that it takes to win a game like that. If we correct those mistakes and give the same type of effort, we'll come out on top Saturday against James Madison.”

      The Dukes beat up the Seahawks inside to prevail in the first matchup 17 days ago at the JMU Convocation Center. First-year coach Matt Brady's club outrebounded UNCW, 47-29, and led wire-to-wire behind freshman Julius Wells, who recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

      JMU also got 11 points apiece from senior workhorse Juwann James and freshman forward Andrey Semenov. James came off the bench to go 5-for-8 from the field in 20 minutes, and Semenov, making his first appearance against UNCW, added four rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

      “The first time we played,” Moss recalled, “they physically dominated the game. They rebounded the ball, scored in the paint and got after us with their on the ball defense, forcing a lot of turnovers. We have to step up and meet the challenge physically to take care of those areas.”

      Wells, a rookie from Toledo, Ohio, impressed Moss, who stands 2-2 against the Dukes since taking over the UNCW program three years ago.

      “We allowed him to get a couple easy looks and that got his confidence going,” Moss said. “He started making the tough shots after we gave him the open ones.”

      The Seahawks have nine games remaining in the regular season, five at home and four on the road. UNCW stands 3-6 on its home floor this season and an overflow crowd is expected as the Seahawks and Dukes battle for the second year in a row in the annual Homecoming game.

      Sophomore playmaker Chad Tomko continues to lead the Seahawks in scoring with 15.8 ppg and also tops the club in minutes played, field goals made, field goals attempted, 3-point field goals made, free throw accuracy and assists.

      Junior guard Johnny Wolf is chipping in 14.6 ppg and junior forward Dominique Lacy has regained his shooting touch after a brief slump to collect 11.9 ppg and a team-best 6.8 rebounds.

      “Dominique's back to playing with confidence,” added Moss. “He's had three very good games, not just offensively but all the way around. He's rebounding better and defending better. He's back to the guy we saw at the beginning of the year.”

      Lacy picked up his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the biggest number on the stat sheet was the personal foul column. The jumping jack from Florence, S.C., did not have a foul in 30 minutes on the floor.

      The UNCW-JMU series began in 1979 and the Seahawks own a slim 31-26 lifetime against the Dukes. Since UNCW reeled off 14 consecutive wins from Jan. 20, 2001, to Jan. 10, 2007, JMU has won two of the last three matchups.

      The Seahawks shot 61.8 percent to claim last year's installment in Trask, 99-85, behind Tomko and seniors T.J. Carter, Daniel Fountain and Vladimir Kuljanin. The speedy Tomko poured in 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while Carter and Fountain had 20 points and Kuljanin finished with 15 and seven boards.

      Following Saturday's tilt, the Seahawks wrap up their three-game homestand on Wednesday when defending CAA regular season champion VCU pays a 7 p.m. visit.