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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

Jordon Talley 2014-15 MBB Action at Hofstra
Zack Lane (@zacktlane) Hofstra University
79
Winner UNCW UNCW 9-8 (4-2 CAA)
74
Hofstra HOFSTRA 13-6 (4-2 CAA)
Winner
UNCW UNCW
9-8 (4-2 CAA)
79
Final
74
Hofstra HOFSTRA
13-6 (4-2 CAA)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 33 46 79
Hofstra HOFSTRA 38 36 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Spruill, Jackson Spark Seahawks Past Pride, 79-74, On Long Island

First-Half Video Highlights (Courtesy of Pride Productions) | Second-Half Video Highlights (Courtesy of Pride Productions)

HEMPSTEAD, New York –  Senior guard Addison Spruill capped a spectacular week with a game-high 23 points and backcourt mate Freddie Jackson shook off a late-game injury to power UNCW past Hofstra, 79-74, in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball matinee Saturday at the Mack Sports Complex.
 
The Seahawks avenged a 12-point loss to the Pride 14 days ago at Trask Coliseum to improve to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the CAA. The Pride dropped its second in a row and stands 13-6 and 4-2.
 
Spruill, a 6-4, 225-pound guard from Currie, N.C., poured in a career-high 33 points in Wednesday's narrow defeat at William & Mary and kept up his torrid pace on Long Island, connecting on 8-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line for his total. Jackson wound up with 21 points, freshman guard Jordon Talley contributed 17 and sophomore center C.J. Gettys had 10 points.
 
Junior guard Ameen Tanksley anchored five players in double figures for the Pride with 19 points. Senior forward Moussa Kone and junior guard Juan'ya Kone added 14 points apiece and junior guard Malik Nichols and senior guard Dion Nesmith chipped in 11.
 
"We've been in this situation a few times and the guys are starting to believe," said first-year UNCW Head Coach Kevin Keatts. "Our guys were coming to the ball at the end and knocking down shots. We're excited about the win, but there's a lot of basketball left to be played and we were fortunate to come out of here with a win today."
 
"I thought we got a little frustrated in the first half. Hofstra was more aggressive and we knew we had to get to the free throw line to have a chance to win the game."
 
Things didn't look too rosy for the Seahawks late in Saturday's 32nd installment of the series. After an early rally in the second half by the Seahawks that resulted in a 44-42 advantage at the 15-minute mark, the slippery Nesmith drained a key three-pointer and Jackson went down on the play with a twisted ankle.

Talley, however, gave the Seahawks a spark before Hofstra pulled ahead, 69-63, on Green's first bucket of the game with 5:41 remaining. Spruill later scored on a tip-in to cap a six-point spurt and bring the Seahawks even at 69-all with 1:54 showing.
 
The Seahawks, with Jackson back on the floor, inched ahead 74-70 on a layup by Spruill with 60 seconds left, but Green drained along triple in front of the Hofstra bench to slice the deficit to one point with 33.8 seconds left.
 
Spruill, though, finished off the Pride with four consecutive free throws in the final 28.4 seconds as the Seahawks beat second-year Hofstra skipper Joe Mihalich for the first time in five tries. UNCW closed out the game by connecting on 32-of-39 at the charity stripe, including 14-of-18 after intermission.
 
The Pride prevailed in a physical first half that featured 26 fouls and 30 free throws attempted. Two Seahawks – Craig Ponder and Chuck Ogbodo – picked up three fouls apiece and five collected at least two personals.
 
After Ponder drove through traffic and scored a layup with just over 10 minutes left to give the Seahawks a 17-16 lead, the Pride reeled off eight unanswered points to build a 24-17 cushion. Tanksley sank both ends of a bonus situation with 8:14 remaining in the opening period as the Pride jumped ahead, 24-17.
 
UNCW closed the gap to 31-25 when Jackson, who had 14 points at the break, connected on a nifty bank shot at the 4:19 mark. But Tanksley banged in a triple from the top of the key to push the margin back to 34-27 and Green sank three free throws with less than a second remaining to help Hofstra claim a 38-33 advantage at intermission.
 
The Seahawks conclude their three-game road swing on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the College of Charleston. The Pride entertains Drexel on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: The Seahawks snapped a five-game losing streak to the Pride…The Seahawks also broke a three-game skid at the Mack Sports Complex..Hofstra leads the all-time series, 17-15…The Seahawks have 12 games remaining in the regular season, evenly split between home contests and road tilts…UNCW has already finished its regular season series with Hofstra before playing Charleston, Elon and Towson...Senior guard Addison Spruill reached double figures for the 14th time in 17 games…UNCW went 0-for-7 from deep in the first half before firing in 4-of-6 in the second period…The Seahawks outrebounded the Pride, 33-30…UNCW had just 11 turnovers…UNCW limited Juan'ya Green, the CAA's fourth leading scorer, to 2-of-11 shooting….The Pride went 32-of-39 at the free throw line.


 
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