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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

Malik Pugh
Chris Crouch
70
Liberty LIBERTY 4-6
73
Winner UNCW UNCW 4-3
Liberty LIBERTY
4-6
70
Final
73
UNCW UNCW
4-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Liberty LIBERTY 23 39 8 70
UNCW UNCW 31 31 11 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Ponder Ignites Seahawks Over Flames In Overtime

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Junior guard Craig Ponder scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to spark UNCW over pesky Liberty, 73-70, in an overtime non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks, kicking off a two-game home stand on a winning note, claimed their second victory in three outings and pushed their record to 4-3 in the new season.
 
The Flames, 4-6, staged a dramatic rally in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime, but struggled in the extra period to remain winless on the road in three tries.
 
"This was a grind it out game, but this group of guys found a way to win the game," said Kevin Keatts, UNCW's first-year coach. "Give Liberty credit. They played a tremendous game. We had some hangover from the Louisville game, but I'm proud that these guys found a way to win."
 
Ponder, the team's third leading scorer, converted a key three-point play late in regulation that nearly gave the Seahawks the win early and wound up leading the team in scoring for the second time this season. Senior guard Freddie Jackson was the only other Seahawk in double figures with 16 points and the Wilmington product added seven boards, two assists and two steals in 44 minutes.
 
Junior guard Joe Retic paced Liberty with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting before fouling out with 10 seconds left in regulation. Junior forward David Andoh chipped in 12 points and senior forward Andrew Smith contributed eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Flames.
 
The Seahawks, playing their first sudden death game since a double overtime thriller over the College of Charleston last February at Trask Coliseum, scored the first six points in overtime and wound up connecting on 7-of-14 free throws in the extra period to secure their second victory in as many games at home.
 
After UNCW jumped out to a seven-point cushion in OT, Liberty managed to cut the deficit to four points late in the extra period before running out of time on the road. The Flames did not score until 1:07 left in the overtime session.
 
Liberty built a 53-50 edge with just over four minutes remaining in regulation on A.C. Reid's deep trey in the left corner, but UNCW reserve forward Chuck Ogbodo scored back-to-back buckets to give the Seahawks a 54-53 advantage.
 
The Flames then inbounded the ball behind their basket, Ponder swiped the pass and converted a layup hanging in the air to draw the foul. The Bluefield, W.Va., standout tossed in the ensuing free throw to extend the margin to 57-53 with 1:51 showing.
 
UNCW still led, 59-55, with 32 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Jackson, but Retic scored on a layup over Dylan Sherwood and then drained a long three-ball on the right side to cut the lead to 61-60. After Ponder sank the first of two free throws, Liberty reserve guard Ethan Layer drove the ball down the left side of the court for a layup with two seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 62-all.
 
UNCW overcame nine first-half turnovers to build a 31-23 advantage at halftime, but Smith scored eight points in the first nine minutes of the second half to get the Flames back into it and Retic's off balance bank shot with 10:11 remaining staked Liberty to a 42-40 edge, its first lead since the 15:12 mark of the first half.
 
Liberty missed its first four field goal attempts of the contest, allowing the Seahawks to grab a quick 5-0 lead, before the Flames regrouped to grab a 9-8 edge on Reid's fallaway triple as the shot clock expired with 15:12 left in the first half.
 
But Jackson and Ogbodo answered with consecutive baskets to help UNCW regain the lead and the Seahawks built the margin to 21-15 before nine first-half turnovers allowed the Flames to get back within striking distance.
 
Jackson's trey on the right side increased the lead to 28-20 with 1:34 remaining in the first half, until Retic, who scored 10 points in the opening frame, drained a trey on the left wing to chop the lead to 28-23. Ponder answered with a three-pointer of his own just before the first-half buzzer as the Seahawks took a 31-23 margin into the break.
 
The Seahawks wrap up their two-game home stand on Saturday with a 7 p.m  tip-off against rival East Carolina. The Flames return home to entertain Central Penn at the Vines Center on Monday at 7 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: UNCW leads the all-time series, 4-0…The Seahawks are now 117-80 lifetime against the Big South Conference…UNCW is 2-1 vs. Virginia opponents in 2014-15…Freddie Jackson has reached double figures in scoring in six of seven games this season…Cedrick Williams played in his 100th game for the Seahawk…Liberty won the rebounding battle, 42-37…Chuck Ogbodo reached a new career high for the second straight game with nine points…UNCW's largest lead of the game was eight points…There were seven ties and eight lead changes….The two teams were whistled for 52 fouls and three players were disqualified…UNCW finished 27-of-44 at the charity stripe…Liberty had 16 offensive rebounds…UNCW's 44 free throw attempts was four shy of the school record set in a win over Murray State on Dec. 3, 1994.



 
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