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Jeff Janowski/UNCW University Relations
69
Col. of Charleston COFC 25-9
78
Winner UNCW UNCW 29-5
Col. of Charleston COFC
25-9
69
Final
78
UNCW UNCW
29-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Col. of Charleston COFC 25 44 69
UNCW UNCW 31 47 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Tie Record With 6th CAA Championship

CHARLESTON, South Carolina – Sophomore guard C.J. scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to propel top-seeded UNCW to its sixth Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball championship with a 78-69 victory over the College of Charleston Monday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks, 29-5, won their seventh straight game and tied the conference record for titles after going back-to-back and winning the league's first championship game held in Charleston. UNCW secured the CAA's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament and will make its ninth postseason appearance.
 
Charleston, meanwhile, stands 25-9 on the season and hopes to land a postseason berth in the coming weeks.
 
UNCW, which has now won CAA titles in three different cities, last went back-to-back in 2002 and 2003. The Seahawks made a record 11th appearance in the CAA championship and matched former member Old Dominion for the most titles won.
 
The Seahawks defeated Delaware, William & Mary and Charleston in succession, averaging 91.3 points over the three games for a CAA Tournament record with 274 points.
 
"What a tremendous championship game," said third-year UNCW Head Coach Kevin Keatts. "Anytime you get the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the championship game, you know it's going to be special.
 
"I thought we fought tonight. The score was 31-26 at halftime and we just talked about staying the course. The tempo was in our favor, even though we weren't scoring a lot of points. I told our guys to be the best defensive team, continue to get stops and the offense would come. Give our guys a lot of credit. They finished the game and we're going dancing."
 
"We've answered all year long. Every team we've played has made a run. I thought we got timely stops when we had to have them."
 
Bryce, a gifted second-year player from Charlotte, N.C., was named the tournament's outstanding player after averaging 19.0 points in the three games, topped by his all-around effort in the championship game. He added five rebounds and five assists to fill up the stat sheet on Monday night.
 
Bryce was joined on the All-Tournament team by sophomore forward Devontae Cacok, senior guard Denzel Ingram, Charleston's Jarrell Brantley and Joe Chealey, and Delaware's Ryan Daly.
 
Cacok added his 12th double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds.  Ingram scored all 11 of his points in the second half and junior playmaker Jordon Talley contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
Cheeley paced Charleston with 21 points and Brantley had a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Like Sunday's semifinal game, the Seahawks use hot shooting in the second half – draining 66.7 percent after the break - to build a big lead midway through the final period and held on to win their sixth consecutive CAA Tournament game.
 
Heading into the final period with a 31-25 advantage, UNCW stretched the margin to 43-35 on Bryce's putback with just under 16 minutes remaining.
 
But Charleston came roaring back and closed with 52-48 when Nick Harris connected on a free throw with 12:03 left to play.
 
The Seahawks then padded their lead to 60-48, however, with an 8-0 spurt and led by as many as 17 points with three minutes remaining after Ingram sank a free throw.
 
In a first half that saw nine lead changes, the Seahawks shook off a cold start to grab a 31-25 advantage at the break. UNCW reeled off 11 fast break points after forcing a fast tempo in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Seahawks got off to a cold start, making just one of their first 10 field goal attempts, before settling in behind Bryce and the craftyTalley.
 
With the game knotted at 5-all, Chealey made a pair of free throws and scored from the left elbow to put the Cougars ahead, 9-5 with 12 minutes left in the first period.
 
Bryce, Talley and Cacok then pulled the Seahawks within 17-16 and UNCW used a 12-4 spurt to gain some separation.
 
Talley started the run with a layup in traffic with 7:14 on the clock and Bryce drained a triple from the left corner at 3:31 to give the Seahawks their largest lead of the half, 28-21.
 
The Cougars answered on Brantley's jumper and a layup by Harris to slice the margin to 28-25, but Chris Flemmings sank a long triple on the right side as the shot clock expired with 5.3 seconds left to give the Seahawks a 31-25 edge at intermission.
 
GAME NOTES: Devontae Cacok set a new tournament record by making 16-of-17 field goals in the tournament…UNCW outrebounded Charleston, 35-31…Jordon Talley scored 35 points off the bench for the Seahawks in the three games in the CAA Tournament…The Seahawks went 10-for-25 behind the arc…UNCW had 16 assists on 28 baskets…Charleston's largest lead in the contest was four points…The Seahawks lead the all-time series, 13-11…UNCW stands 39-26 in CAA Tournament play…UNCW is 22-8 against current CAA members in tournament action.


 
 
 
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