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tolefree_brian_nu
John Crouch
74
Northeastern NE 10-9,4-3 CAA
76
Winner UNCW UNCW 6-15,1-7 CAA
Northeastern NE
10-9,4-3 CAA
74
Final
76
UNCW UNCW
6-15,1-7 CAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Northeastern NE 35 31 8 74
UNCW UNCW 28 38 10 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Muzzle Huskies In OT

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – With its 2000 CAA men's basketball championship team looking on, UNCW battled back to force overtime and then overcame a quick Northeastern start in the extra period for a wild 76-74 victory on Saturday at Trask Coliseum.
 
The resilient Seahawks snapped their 12-game losing streak to improve to 6-15 overall and 1-7 in the CAA. The Huskies now stand 9-9 and 3-3.
 
"What a night," said Rob Burke, UNCW's interim head coach. "This is a championship level program and we have to live up to it. I'm so proud of those guys in the locker room.
 
"It was a big-time effort. We're going to fight. Period. If we hadn't gotten a result tonight, the guys would have been really, really hurt. I'm just so proud of them."
 
Junior guard Mike Okauru filled up the stat sheet once again and anchored four players in double figures for the Seahawks. The Raleigh native notched a double-double and finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in an all-around effort. Sophomore guard Brian Tolefree paced the club with a career-high 17 points, freshman playmaker Shykeim Phillips added 14 points and junior guard Ty Gadsden had 10.
 
NU senior guard Jordan Roland, the CAA's leading scorer, lived up to his billing as one of the league's top point producers. He set a Trask Coliseum record with 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting to head two players in double figures for NU. Roland broke the record of 37 points set by JMU guard Abdulai Jalloh on Feb. 9, 2008.
 
The Seahawks snapped a six-game losing streak to the Huskies by falling behind early, cutting into the lead at halftime, rallying down the stretch to force overtime and riding Okauru's gritty play in the extra session.
 
Trailing, 57-41, with 10 minutes left in regulation, the Seahawks used a 12-2 run over a 3:49 span late and took the lead, 64-62, on a pair of free throws by Gadsden with 2:09 remaining. Roland then answered with back-to-back buckets and gave the Huskies a 66-64 edge on a jumper at the free throw line until Okauru drove the lane and slammed the ball down with 2.5 seconds left to send the game into OT.
 
The Huskies scored the first four points in OT, but Okauru took over. The crafty guard scored eight of UNCW's 10 points in the extra period and dropped in a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Seahawks in front, 76-72.
 
Walker scored on a layup to close the gap to two points and after the Seahawks missed a pair of free throws, Roland stepped out of bounds near his bench with 2.4 seconds on the clock. The Huskies got the ball back off a loose ball on the inbounds play, but Roland's game-tying attempt was called off as time expired.
 
In the first half, the Seahawks inched out to a 20-18 lead on Tolefree's layup on the right side with 6:13 left before the Huskies seized control.
 
The Huskies exploded for 10 points in 72 seconds to build a 28-20 margin, with Roland collecting eight markers in the barrage. The Seahawks managed to cut the deficit to 30-26 with two minutes left, but NU stretched the lead back to 35-26 and took a 35-28 advantage into the lockerroom.
 
The Seahawks have their bye week on the conference schedule ahead and don't hit the floor again until next Saturday, Jan. 25, in Charleston. UNCW and Charleston go head-to-head at 4 p.m. at TD Arena.
 
GAME NOTES: In addition to featuring a special halftime recognition of UNCW's 2000 CAA champions, the game was designated as Suits Vs. Sneakers night by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)…The Huskies lead the all-time series, 16-13…The Seahawks own a 7-5 advantage at Trask Coliseum…Okauru's double-double was the second of his career and the fifth of the season for the Seahawks…The leading free throw shooting club in the CAA, the Huskies struggled at the stripe, connecting on just 14-of-22…The Seahawks scored 48 points in the paint….NU won the battle of the boards, 38-35...The Seahawks are now 2-0 in OT games this season and won for the first time in four tries in OT vs. NU.



 
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