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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Seahawks Tangle With Troy In MTE Finale

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina – Fresh off a dramatic victory over host UNC Asheville on Friday, the UNCW men's basketball team wraps up its appearance in the Mako Medical Asheville Classic with a Saturday matinee against Troy.
 
The Seahawks (1-1) face the Trojans (1-1) at UNCA's Kimmel Arena in the third game of the MTE tournament at 1 p.m. The UNCW-Troy matchup will be carried locally on The Breeze, 95.9 FM, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro providing the action. The game may also be heard worldwide on the station's website, www.959thebreeze.com.
 
UNCW has christened the new season with a 98-76 loss to Western Carolina and a thrilling 76-68 verdict over host UNCA. It's part of a four-game start away from home for the Seahawks and new head coach Takayo Siddle.
 
The Seahawks handed Siddle his first victory with Friday's come-from-behind decision against the Bulldogs. UNCW trailed by 10 points with nine minutes remaining before rallying down the stretch with solid free throw shooting and timely defense.
 
Junior guard Jaylen Sims is off to a torrid start for the team. The Charlotte, N.C., product has played every minute of the first two games and scored 27 and 24 points for the Seahawks. He is shooting 57.1 percent from the field (12-of-21) and has converted 6-of-10 from long distance.
 
Sophomore guard Jake Boggs has matched Sims' strong start. Also from Charlotte, Boggs has scored 17 and 19 points in the first two outings and came up big in Friday's triumph over UNCA. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three blocks in the come-from-behind thriller over the Bulldogs.
 
Troy, meanwhile, opened its season with a 66-64 victory over Western Carolina in the tournament's first contest. The Trojans used balanced scoring and a 16-5 run late in the second half to overcome the Catamounts. Freshman guard Kam Woods exploded for 20 points, while junior forward Zay Williams added 15 points to help the Trojans erase a 43-33 deficit with 12:16 left in the second half.
 
Following Saturday's clash with Troy, the Seahawks break for the completion of exams before returning to the floor on Monday, Dec. 7, against rival East Carolina in Greenville.
 
Seahawk Storylines
 
UNCW and Troy have only met twice and split those meetings. Each team won on its home court by similar margins. The Seahawks took the series opener by 12 points and the Trojans turned the tables with a nine-point victory in Troy.
 
The Seahawks have played 10 of the 12 schools in the Sun Belt Conference through the years and stand 39-40 against the league.
 
UNCW has scored 76 points in each of its first two games of the 2020-21 campaign.
 
When the Seahawks connected on 24-of-32 at the free throw line in Friday's win, it marked the second straight game that UNCW has attempted at least 30 free throws (22-of-31 vs. WCU). It's the first time that's happened since March 4-5, 2017.
 
Junior guard Jaylen Sims is off to a great start for the Seahawks. Sims poured in a career-high 27 points and played all 40 minutes in the season-opening loss to WCU on Wednesday. He added 24 points in another 40-minute effort on Friday. He's made 66 career appearances and 30 starts for the Seahawks, scoring 609 points and collecting 279 rebounds over three seasons.
 
Jaylen Sims, the CAA's leading scorer, has played every minute of the first two contests this season. He entered the season averaging just 24.8 minutes per game.
 
The Seahawks have attempted nearly twice as many free throws as opponents through the first two games, 63-32. Jaylen Sims (27), Ty Gadsden (11) and Mike Okauru (11) have combined to shoot 49 of the team's 63 charity tosses.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jake Boggs

#5 Jake Boggs

G
6' 7"
Sophomore
Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

G
6' 1"
Senior
Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

G
6' 3"
Senior
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

G
6' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jake Boggs

#5 Jake Boggs

6' 7"
Sophomore
G
Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

6' 1"
Senior
G
Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

6' 3"
Senior
G
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

6' 6"
Junior
G