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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Huskies, Pride Remain On Regular Season Road Slate


Game #28: UNCW "Seahawks" vs. Northeastern "Huskies"
Matthews Arena (5,066) • Boston, Mass.
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 • 7 p.m.
Seahawk Digital Network (Audio)
Twitter: @UNCWMensHoops • #RunDefendWin
Game Notes: UNCW | NU
22564
 UNCW "Seahawks"
2016-17 Record: 22-5, 11-3 CAA
Last Game: L 77-76, at Elon, 2-11-17
Head Coach: Kevin Keatts (3rd Season)
Roster | Schedule/Results | Statistics | Homepage
21475 Northeastern "Huskies"
2016-17 Record: 14-12, 7-7 CAA
Last Game: L 74-64, vs. Hofstra, 2-11-17
Head Coach: Bill Coen (11th Season)
Roster | Schedule/Results | Statistics | Homepage
WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's basketball team journeys to the frosty Northeast this week to battle Colonial Athletic Association rivals Northeastern and Hofstra as the curtain closes on the 2016-17 road schedule for the Seahawks.
 
Coach Kevin Keatts and his club (22-5, 11-3) take on the Huskies (14-12, 7-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at historic Matthews Arena, the original home of the NBA's Boston Celtics, before scooting down to Hempstead, N.Y. on Saturday for the road finale vs. Hofstra.
 
The Seahawks are clinging to a one-game lead in the CAA standings following a narrow road loss at Elon last Saturday. Charleston (19-8, 10-4) sits one game back and Towson (17-10, 9-5) holds down third place.
 
"We're in a race," Keatts said matter-of-factly in his mid-week press conference. "We've got four games left and it's coming down to the wire. It's no different than the last couple of years. We've got a very challenging schedule ahead with these four games.
 
"There's not much difference in No. 1 and No. 10. Anybody can beat you. When you're on someone's home floor it's tough. There's so much parity. We've played some very good teams on their home floor and that's the case again this weekend."
 
UNCW will be aiming again to set a regular season record for victories. The 2005-06 and 2015-16 clubs both registered 22 wins during the regular season en route to CAA Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Sophomore guard C.J. Bryce continues to pace the Seahawks in scoring with 16.7 points per game, tying him for third overall in the CAA. The Charlotte, N.C., product has reached double figures in scoring in 25-of-27 games this season, with seven games of 20 points or better.
 
Senior guards Chris Flemmings (15.4) and Denzel Ingram (14-8) are providing offensive support as well as sophomore forward Devontae Cacok (12.9). The stout Cacok still leads the NCAA's Division I players in field goal percentage at 78.8 percent and tops the CAA in double-doubles with 10 this season.
 
UNCW and NU will get to know each other well over the last two weeks of the regular season. The two teams, who collided in last year's CAA Tournament semifinals, play twice in the last nine days of the schedule, including a matchup in the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Huskies are coming off a 74-64 loss to Hofstra last Saturday. The Pride used an 8-0 run over the final minute to pull away for the road win behind CAA Player-of-the-Week Justin Wright-Foreman, who finished with 25 points. NU shot just 36 percent in the second half and fell to 7-2 at Matthews Arena this season.
 
High-scoring senior guard T.J. Williams stirs the NU drink. He tops the CAA in scoring at 21.0 ppg and has eclipsed the 20-point plateau on 15 occasions. In addition, Williams owns a 26-game double figure scoring streak intact heading into Thursday's contest.
 
Keatts said, "T.J. Williams is a very good basketball player. They added (former Florida standout) Alex Murphy and are starting to get some guys back. They are very dangerous and very good at home. They had a lot of success in the non-conference schedule.
 
"When you're putting up the numbers T.J.'s putting up, it's tough. I don't know that we can stop him. We want to make things tough for him if we can."
 
The Seahawks jumped out to a 9-0 start in the circuit, but have lost three of their last five outings. UNCW has four games left on the schedule, evenly split between road and home contests.
 
The series between the two teams has been a competitive one. In 20 matchups, the Seahawks and Huskies have battled to a 10-all draw, but UNCW has won two in a row and six of the last 10 clashes. Keatts has not lost in Boston in his two trips to Beantown.
 
"Our guys are focused," Keatts reflected. "We've spent a lot of time on getting better in certain areas and concentrating on being in the right place defensively, taking good shots and sharing the basketball…all things we've done to win 22 games this year."
 
Following's Thursday's contest in Boston, the Seahawks and Pride tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Mack Sports Complex. UNCW took the first meeting between the two teams, 84-76, back on Jan. 14 in Wilmington.
 
"When you look at these two teams, they are getting people back. We're going to play two teams that have their full rosters," Keatts warned.
 
Live Seahawk Digital Network (SDN) coverage of the UNCW-NU contest begins with Mike Vaccaro providing the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. Visit UNCWsports.com/SDN for live audio coverage. In addition, a radio broadcast of the game can be heard on WLSG 94.1 FM and 1340 AM (Wilmington) and WSME 97.1 FM and 1120 AM (Jacksonville).
 
For more information on the UNCW men's basketball team, visit UNCWsports.com and click on the Men's Basketball button. Additional information is also available on UNCW's social media channels: Facebook (UNCW Men's Basketball), Twitter (@UNCWmenshoops), Instagram (UNCWBasketball).


 
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Players Mentioned

C.J. Bryce

#12 C.J. Bryce

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Devontae Cacok

#15 Devontae Cacok

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Chris Flemmings

#1 Chris Flemmings

G
6' 5"
Redshirt Senior
Denzel Ingram

#10 Denzel Ingram

G
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

C.J. Bryce

#12 C.J. Bryce

6' 5"
Sophomore
G
Devontae Cacok

#15 Devontae Cacok

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Chris Flemmings

#1 Chris Flemmings

6' 5"
Redshirt Senior
G
Denzel Ingram

#10 Denzel Ingram

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
G