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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

cylla_jeantal
John Crouch
72
Winner Stanford M-674
59
UNCW M-460
Winner
Stanford M-674
72
Final
59
UNCW M-460
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Stanford M-674 39 33 72
UNCW M-460 25 34 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Cardinal Trims Seahawks In Home Opener

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Stanford used a late first-half surge to bounce back from an early deficit and held on to spoil UNCW's home opener on Friday night, 72-59, in the first meeting between the two schools at Trask Coliseum.
 
Combined with a season-opening victory over Seattle, the Cardinal out of the Pac-12 Conference improved to 2-0 on the new campaign. UNCW dipped to 0-2 after falling to Campbell and Stanford.
 
Stanford sophomore forward KZ Okpala led all scorers in the contest with 23 points, freshman guard Cormac Ryan chipped in 14 and sophomore guard Daejon Davis added 10 and five steals.
 
Senior forward Devontae Cacok and junior forward Jeantal Cylla each had 14 points for the Seahawks. Junior guard Jaylen Fornes pitched in 13 points.
 
After leading at the half, 39-25, Stanford kept UNCW at bay after the break, spurning several comeback attempts by the hosts.
 
UNCW reeled off eight straight points midway through the second period to chop the deficit to 55-47 on a pair of free throws by Cylla at 9:14.
 
But Ryan converted a conventional three-point play and junior guard Marcus Sheffield added a shot high off the glass to extend the lead back to 60-47. UNCW could not get closer the rest of the way.
 
UNCW jumped out to a 19-11 margin in the first nine minutes behind solid shooting and an active defense. The scrappy Seahawks drained seven of their first 14 field goal attempts while holding the Cardinal to just 4-of-13 shooting.
 
But Cacok, a preseason First-Team All-CAA selection, picked up his second personal with 11:13 left in the opening period and the Cardinal went to work. Reserve guard Bryce Wills scored on a jumper to kickstart a string of six straight points and Stanford closed out the half with a 28-5 run to take control.
 
Okpala, who failed to score in the first 9:32 of the contest, poured in 13 points the remainder of the period to give the Cardinal a 39-25 advantage after the first 20 minutes. The Seahawks wound up shooting 33.3 percent in the first half and went scoreless over a seven-minute stretch late in the half.
 
CACOK UPDATE: Senior forward Devontae Cacok, who ranked fourth nationally last season in double-doubles, fell just shy of his second double-double of the season after finishing with 14 points and eight boards.
 
SUFFOCATING RUN: Trailing, 19-11, midway through the first half, Stanford went on a 28-5 run, including 17 unanswered points at one stretch, to break away.
 
OKPALA HEATS UP: KZ Okpala missed his first five field goal attempts before connecting on a jumper in the paint with 8:23 left in the first half. He sparked the Cardinal down the stretch, leading all scorers with his 23 markers.
 
PERSONAL ISSUES: The Seahawks encountered foul problems for the second game in a row. Devontae Cacok picked up his second personal with 11:13 left in the first half and Jaylen Fornes got tagged with two personals in a 26-second span from 10:17 to 9:51 of the first half.
 
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS: Junior forward Jeantal Cylla has been outstanding at the charity stripe. In two games, he has made 14-of-15 free throws for the Seahawks.
 
SEAHAWKS WIN HALF THE GAME: The Seahawks actually outscored the Cardinal in the second half, 34-33.
 
KEY MOMENT: After the Seahawks trimmed the deficit to 55-47 on two free throws by Jeantal Cylla, freshman guard Cormac Ryan answered with a fast break layup and tacked on a free throw to boost the margin bak to 58-47.
 
QUOTABLE: – "Stanford was really long and it affected a lot of the game. Once they started scoring and got a set defense, we just had too many turnovers. We really competed, though. We were a possession or two away from getting it to a six or seven-point game a couple times. We were close in the second half. We gave it all we had. A few mental mistakes and a few turnovers cost us the basketball game." - UNCW Head Coach C.B. McGrath
 
NEXT UP: UNCW continues its home stand on Tuesday when state rival UNC Greensboro pays a visit to Trask Coliseum. Tip-off is 7 p.m.





 
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