Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

estime_jay_nu
John Crouch
81
Winner Northeastern M-500
77
UNCW M-460
Winner
Northeastern M-500
81
Final
77
UNCW M-460
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northeastern M-500 33 48 81
UNCW M-460 44 33 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Huskies Pull Out 81-77 Road Victory

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Northeastern shot 57.1 percent in the second half and held UNCW without a field goal during a critical stretch late in the game to trim the Seahawks, 81-77, in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball game on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Huskies, 16-9 overall and 10-3 in the CAA, completed a sweep of the regular season series with the Seahawks and remained within striking distance of first-place Hofstra. The Seahawks lost their sixth straight game and fell to 8-19 and 4-10.
 
Four of NU's starters reached double figures in scoring, topped by junior guard Jordan Roland's 19 points. Junior guard Donnell Gresham chipped in 17, junior guard Bolden Brace added 16 and senior center Anthony Green had 10 for the Huskies, who wound up shooting 50 percent on the night.
 
Junior guard Jeantal Cylla paced the Seahawks in scoring for the second straight game and ninth time overall with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Freshman playmaker Kai Toews collected 17 points and dished out 10 assists, racking up his seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Ty Gadsden gave UNCW three players in double digits with 14 points.
 
Playing before a Valentine's Day crowd of 3,482 fans, the Huskies withstood a 17-0 UNCW run late in the first half and erased an 11-point halftime deficit to win their fifth in a row over the Seahawks.
 
Roland, a transfer from George Washington, opened the final half with a four-point play to held the Huskies climb within 44-37, but the Seahawks used a five-point spurt to increase the lead back to 56-49 on Devontae Cacok's free throw at the 13:14 mark.
 
The Huskies finally caught the Seahawks with 9:28 remaining when Brace drove in for a layup to give Northeastern a 61-60 edge.
 
UNCW regained the lead and was still on top, 66-65, with 6:59 on the clock when the bottom dropped out for the Seahawks. Northeastern scored seven unanswered points and netted their final 10 points at the charity stripe, where they sank 11-of-14 free throws in the final period. Meantime, the Seahawks committed six turnovers in the crucial span and went without a field goal until Toews converted a fadeaway jumper with 43 seconds left in the contest.
 
The Seahawks slipped behind early before storming back with a suffocating run over the final eight minutes to end the opening period. Led by Cylla's 5-of-7 shooting and 11 points, UNCW shot 53.1 percent in the first 20 minutes to take a 44-33 lead at the break.
 
Northeastern started quickly and back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore guard Myles Franklin staked the Huskies to a 20-12 advantage with 12:40 left in the first half. A dunk by Thomas Murphy with 10:20 remaining gave the Huskies their largest lead of the first half, 25-16.
 
The Seahawks responded in a big way, however, reeling off 17 unanswered points as part of a 25-3 over an 8:01 stretch to seize control. Still trailing, 28-24, the Seahawks got rolling with a Jay Estime' jumper on the right wing at the 7:31 mark and Cylla capped the spurt with 2:44 left to extend UNCW's margin to 41-28.
 
GAME NOTES
 
BE MY VALENTINE: The Seahawks are now 8-11on Valentine's Day in their history, including 5-5 at home.
 
SERIES UPDATE: Northeastern leads the series 15-12 and has taken six of the last 10 meetings. UNCW's last win over NU came on Feb. 25, 2017, at Trask Coliseum.
 
PERFECT TEN: Toews collected 10 assists for the 10th time this season after picking up seven dimes in the first half and three after intermission. He also reached double figures in scoring for the 12th time this season.
 
EVEN IN THE PAINT: Both teams scored 36 points in the paint on the night.
 
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS: The Seahawks shot 57.1 percent (4-of-7) in the first half and 27.3 percent (3-of-11) in the final period.
 
KEY MOMENT: After UNCW's Jaylen Sims canned a triple with 6:59 remaining, Roland soared in for a layup to ignite a decisive 7-0 min-run that gave the Huskies the breathing room they needed.
 
QUOTABLE:  "They made their shots in the lane and we didn't make ours. They made the shots to get back into the game and we didn't get the shots, make the shots and get the rebounds. It was a game of inches tonight and the bounces went their way. Sometimes you make your own bounces. We didn't make the bounces go our way tonight."-UNCW Head Coach C.B. McGrath
 
NEXT UP: UNCW concludes its 2018-19 home schedule on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Hofstra at Trask Coliseum. A special "Senior Night" ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m. to honor seniors Jacque Brown, Daniel Etoroma, Trey Kalina, Shawn O'Connell and Devontae Cacok.




 
Print Friendly Version