Seahawks, Tribe Set For Homecoming

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – It's down the home stretch for the UNCW men's basketball team as the Seahawks entertain longtime rival William & Mary on Saturday in the annual homecoming game at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks, 7-18 overall and 2-10 in the Colonial Athletic Association, battle the Tribe for the second time this season in a 7 p.m. matchup. W&M, 16-9 and 8-4, claimed the initial meeting, 79-63, in Williamsburg in the third conference game of the campaign for the Seahawks.

Only six games remain in the regular season for the Seahawks, including four at home, where UNCW stands 5-7 on the year.

UNCW has dropped three straight games since knocking off Northeastern and Charleston. The Tribe fell out of first place following a stinging 68-50 loss at Charleston on Thursday.

UNCW looks to bounce back following a 62-56 setback on Thursday to Elon. Graduate guard Marcus Sheffield II's clutch bucket with 18 seconds left clinched the win as the Phoenix completed a sweep of the regular season series with the Seahawks.

W&M, meanwhile, suffered its second straight loss and was held to a season-low 50 points as CofC gained sole possession of first place in the conference. Brevin Galloway's career-high 23 points offset a double-double of 28 points and 18 rebounds by Tribe senior forward Nathan Knight.

The 6-10, 253-pound Knight is no stranger to the Seahawks. He has faced UNCW eight times, making five starts, and averaged 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds. He stands 5-3 vs. UNCW during his career with the Tribe.

In the last game between the two schools on Jan. 9 in Williamsburg, W&M led wire-to-wire at Kaplan Arena. Senior center Andy Van Vliet anchored four W&M players in double figures with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Knight added a double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds.

Saturday's contest will be carried over the air on The Breeze, 95.9 FM, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer providing the call. The game may be heard worldwide on the station's website, www.959thebreeze.com. A live video stream will be available on FloSports.com.

Seahawk Storylines

Following the clash with the Tribe, the Seahawks embark on their final road trip of the '19-20 regular season, traveling to Northeastern and Hofstra next week for games with the Huskies on Thursday, Feb. 13, and the Pride on Saturday, Feb. 15.

The Seahawks and Tribe are colliding for the 76th time. UNCW leads the all-time series by a 44-31 margin, but W&M has taken four of the last five and six of the last 10 matchups.

The 75-game UNCW-W&M series is the third longest on record for the Seahawks, ranking only behind longtime state foe Campbell and CAA rival James Madison.

The Seahawks are 0-2 in February after losses to James Madison and Elon to start the final month of the regular season.

Freshman guard Shykeim Phillips, one of the top rookies in the loop, is questionable again on Saturday after going into concussion protocol last weekend. He's been recognized as CAA Rookie of the Week twice already and has led the team in scoring twice. Phillips has scored in double digits on 11 occasions.

The Seahawks stand 5-7 on their home floor, beating Johnson & Wales, Campbell, N.C. Wesleyan, Emory & Henry and Northeastern. UNCW has lost to North Carolina, Mercer, Charlotte, James Madison, Towson, Hofstra and Elon at Trask Coliseum.

Led by sophomores Imajae Dodd (27) and Marten Linssen (18), the Seahawks rank third in the CAA in blocks with 3.2 per game.

UNCW turned in its best defensive performances of the season in Thursday's matchup vs. Elon. The Seahawks held the Phoenix to just 34.6 percent shooting, a season low for opponents.

The Seahawks used their 10th different starting lineup of the season in Thursday night's loss to Elon. It also marked the fifth different starting five in as many games. No player has opened every game in 2019-20.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Marten Linssen: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore

#2 Shykeim Phillips: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

#24 Imajae Dodd: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Marten Linssen
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#2 Shykeim Phillips
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G

#24 Imajae Dodd
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F

UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

Seahawks, Tribe Set For Homecoming

Players Mentioned

#23 Marten Linssen

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#24 Imajae Dodd

Players Mentioned

#23 Marten Linssen

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#24 Imajae Dodd