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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Seahawks Host Defending CAA Champions

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The Colonial Athletic Association schedule heats up again for the UNCW men's basketball team this weekend when the Seahawks entertain defending champion and preseason favorite Hofstra in another two-game conference series at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks, 7-6 overall and 1-3 in the CAA, will be trying to bounce back from a 67-62 loss to Delaware last Sunday. The Blue Hens avoided a sweep after the Seahawks took the opener one day earlier, 77-70.
 
"It's been difficult, but it's the reality of what we're dealing with right now," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's first-year head coach. "Our guys are fighting. We spend a lot of time worrying about ourselves versus the other team. Our mentality is to get really good at what we can do."
 
Both 1 p.m. matchups with the Pride will be carried locally on The Breeze, 95.9 FM, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer calling the action. The game may also be heard worldwide on the station's website, www.959thebreeze.com, and video is available by subscription on FloHoops.com.
 
Siddle continued, "Hofstra plays with a great deal of confidence and their guards can really score the ball. They score at a high level. We need to keep those guys in check and make them inefficient.
 
"They'll play 40 minutes of zone. We have to be prepared for that. It's important that we get a bunch of shots up this week. They're going to sit back in the zone, so we have to make some shots to get them out of it. Ball and player movement will be very important. We want to attack inside-out like we always do."
 
The Seahawks are appearing on their home floor for the fifth time this season and stand 3-1 after suffering their first loss at Trask Coliseum with Sunday's setback to the Blue Hens.
 
In the contest, a 10-foot jumper by senior guard Ryan Allen with 15.9 seconds left lifted Delaware over UNCW, salvaging a split of the CAA set. Senior guard Ty Gadsden led four Seahawks in double figures with 14 points. Delaware was paced by Allen's season-high 25 points and redshirt senior forward Dylan Painter's 15 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Hofstra brings a 9-6 record and three-game winning streak to the North Carolina coast to battle the Seahawks. The Pride completed a weekend sweep of Towson with a 74-69 victory over the Tigers on Sunday in Hempstead. The Pride stands 4-1 in CAA play at home and 1-2 on the road.
 
Hofstra is being directed by Associate Head Coach Mike Farrelly while veteran Head Coach Joe Mihalich is out on temporary medical leave. The Pride is still off to a solid start behind the 1-2 punch of senior guard Jalen Ray and junior forward Isaac Kante.
 
Ray, a 6-2, 175-pound shooter, joined the 1,000-point club in the Pride's win at Richmond and is tied for 28th all-time in Hofstra history with 1,159 points. He has eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times this season, including in both of Hofstra's games at Delaware.
 
The Seahawks have faced Kante twice and he's been tough to contain. The Georgia transfer scored 12 and 23 points in last year's matchups, making 11-of-16 (.688) field goals and 13-of-19 (.684) free throws.
 
UNCW and HU lock horns for the 45th time since Hofstra joined the CAA during the 2001-02 season. The series is tied at 22-all, but the Pride has taken three of the last four matchups. The Seahawks stand 10-9 lifetime against Hofstra at Trask Coliseum and have won two of the last three games in Wilmington.
 
Seahawk Storylines
 
UNCW and Hofstra have squared off six times in the CAA Tournament and the Seahawks have taken four of the contests, including the 2006 and 2016 title games.
 
The series features two of the CAA's top offensive clubs. The Seahawks rank second (77.2 ppg) and the Pride are third (70.8 ppg) in scoring in the loop.
 
Gadsden has made 38 consecutive free throws and shattered T.J. Carter's school record of 37 straight set from Feb. 9, 2008, to Mar. 1, 2008, in the last outing vs. Delaware on Sunday. Gadsden has not missed a free throw in seven straight contests stretching back to the 6:06 mark of the second half at Ole Miss.
 
Four of the top-11 scorers in the CAA will be on display: Jalen Ray (HU, 2nd, 18.0 ppg), Jaylen Sims (UNCW, 3rd, 17.6 ppg), Tareq Coburn (Hofstra, 9th, 15.5 ppg) and Ty Gadsden (UNCW, 11th, 14.8 ppg).
 
Jaylen Sims, UNCW's top scorer, has averaged 17.9 ppg in non-conference games and 14.3 in CAA play. In four league games, Sims has made 19-of-53 shots from the field and 2-of-14 from deep.
 
The Seahawks rank ninth in the CAA in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting 45.8 percent against UNCW. The last four opponents have made 49 percent (101-of-206) of their field goals.
 
The Seahawks are playing their 12th afternoon game in 14 contests. UNCW enters the weekend with a 6-5 record in early starts.
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

G
6' 1"
Senior
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

G
6' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

6' 1"
Senior
G
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

6' 6"
Junior
G