Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

cylla_caa
Rafael Suanes/CAA
93
Winner UNCW UNCW 10-22
86
Elon ELON 11-21
Winner
UNCW UNCW
10-22
93
Final
86
Elon ELON
11-21
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 46 47 93
Elon ELON 38 48 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Win CAA Tourney Opener

CHARLESTON, South Carolina – UNCW's affinity for the North Charleston Coliseum lives on.
 
The No. 10 seeded Seahawks, who own a 5-1 tournament record in the venue, eliminated No. 7 Elon, 93-86, in the Colonial Athletic Association post-season opener for both teams on Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks improved to 10-22 this season and will take on No. 2 seeded Northeastern in the first game of Sunday's night session at 6 p.m. The Phoenix finished its season with an 11-20 record.
 
UNCW placed six players in double figures for the first time this season, led by junior forward Jeantal Cylla's 23 points, one shy of his career high set three games ago at Elon. Senior forward Devontae Cacok contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds, freshman guard Jaylen Sims scored a career-high 13 points, sophomore guard Ty Gadsden collected 12 points, freshman point guard Kai Toews and sophomore guard Jay Estime' pitched in 10 apiece.
 
Senior guard Steven Santa Ana paced four Elon players in double digits with 26 points. Senior guard Sheldon Eberhardt added 16 points, senior forward Tyler Seibring finished with 14 points and Federico Poser scored 11.
 
UNCW avenged a pair of seven-point losses to the Phoenix during the regular season by being the aggressor from the start and led by as many as 15 points in the second half. It was the first CAA Tournament meeting between the Seahawks and Phoenix.
 
The Seahawks, who shot 53.2 percent from the floor, carved out a 46-38 advantage at halftime and used a decisive surge midway through the final period to build a working margin before closing the game out.
 
UNCW did most its damage in the second half with Cacok, who played just 23 minutes, on the bench with three personals. Cylla scored 13 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes and grabbed nine rebounds in the second half.
 
After Elon sliced the deficit to 72-66 on a three-pointer with eight minutes remaining, Cylla kickstarted a 9-0 run with a tip-in and free throw with 7:21 on the clock. A Sims triple in the left corner increased the margin to 81-66 at the 4:37 mark. Elon staged a late comeback, but it was too little, too late for the Phoenix.
 
Santa Ana scored 15 points in the first 20 minutes to get the Phoenix off to a hot start, but the Seahawks matched it in a frenetic first half.
 
A Seibring jumper on the left wing with 17:50 left gave the Phoenix an early 7-2 advantage, but the Seahawks took control behind the inside play of Cacok. The First-Team All-CAA performer scored eight of UNCW's 11 points as the Seahawks took a 15-13 edge at the 14:15 mark.
 
The Seahawks later used an eight-point spurt to gain breathing room and built their largest lead of the first half, 44-31, on a nifty layup by Toews.
 
UNCW wound up shooting 58.6 percent in the first half on 17-of-29 shooting, despite Cacok playing just 11 minutes in the period.

Toews, a member of the CAA's All-Rookie team, smashed Rick Alessi's longtime single season assist record at UNCW with six helpers. He has 249 dimes this season, eclipsing Alessi's previous mark of 244 assists. Toews is within reach of the CAA's single season record of 251 assists shared by George Mason's Curtis McCants (1994-95) and Navy's Doug Wojcik (1985-86).
 
GAME NOTES
 
TOURNEY SCORECARD: The Seahawks stand 41-27 in 35 appearances in the CAA Tournament.
 
OPENING ROUND RECORD: The Seahawks were playing in the opening round for the ninth time. UNCW owns a 3-5 record in opening round contests.
 
DOING THE CHARLESTON: The Seahawks are 5-1 at the North Charleston Coliseum, including a CAA championship under Kevin Keatts in 2017.
 
CACOK UPDATE: Cacok continued his storied career with the Seahawks. His numbers include 128 games played, 96 starts, 1,250 rebounds, 1,572 points and 58 double-doubles.
 
SHADOWING SEIBRING: Seibring had averaged 17.8 points against the Seahawks entering the contest, but UNCW held the high-scoring senior to 6-of-17 shooting and 14 rebounds.
 
BUILDING THE WIN TOTAL: The Seahawks notched their 41st tournament victory, the most in conference history.
 
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS: It was the first CAA Tournament victory for the Seahawks as the No. 10 seed.
 
KEY MOMENT: After Elon had narrowed the deficit to 72-66 with 7:44 left to play, the athletic Cylla converted a conventional three-point play to push the lead back to 75-66 and fuel a key 9-0 spurt.
 
QUOTABLE: "We had six guys in double figures and that was huge for us. Different guys stepped up and hit shots." -UNCW Head Coach C.B. McGrath




 

 
 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version