Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

white_trazarien
Alan Look
63
UNCW UNCW 0-1,0-0 CAA
68
Winner Illinois St. ISU 1-0,0-0 MVC
UNCW UNCW
0-1,0-0 CAA
63
Final
68
Illinois St. ISU
1-0,0-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 32 31 63
Illinois St. ISU 23 45 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Drop Season Debut In Illinois

NORMAL, Illinois – Opportunistic Illinois State rallied from an early 15-point deficit and capitalized on a second-half cold spell by UNCW for a 68-63 victory over the Seahawks in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night at Redbird Arena.
 
The Seahawks, kicking off their 71st season of hoops, return to the North Carolina coast for their home opener on Friday (Nov. 12) vs. Guilford. The Redbirds travel to Eastern Michigan on Friday for their road debut.
 
ISU trailed at the break, 32-23, but stormed back in the final 20 minutes by outscoring the Seahawks, 45-31, in the second half as UNCW shot just 28.1 percent on 9-of-32 shooting in the decisive period.
 
"I thought we played well enough to win the game," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's second-year head coach. "We struggled a little bit offensively in manufacturing points and we have to be better with that. We made some crucial mistakes and they made us pay every time down the stretch.
 
"The intent was there, and I thought the force was there. We need to keep getting better at the focus and attention to detail and I take responsibility for that. We'll clean it up and be better."
 
Junior playmaker Shykeim Phillips anchored four Seahawks in double figures with 14 points, including nine in the opening period. Graduate guard Jaylen Fornes added 12 points and graduate guard James Baker, Jr., and freshman guard Trazarien White collected 10 points apiece.
 
Senior guard Antonio Reeves poured in a career-high 29 points for the Redbirds, who shot just 33.9 percent from the floor. Reeves went 9-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 behind the arc and grabbed six rebounds on the night. Backcourt mate Mark Freeman was the only other ISU player in double digits with 11 points.
 
After leading by double digits most of the first half, the Seahawks were sluggish in the opening minutes of the final period and the Redbirds capitalized.
 
Reeves got the Redbirds kick started with a three-point bomb to open the second half and the home team outscored the Seahawks, 13-4, over the first 4:41 to jump ahead, 36-34.
 
The game hung in the balance over the next 10 minutes as the teams traded buckets and White connected on both ends of a bonus situation for the Seahawks to even the score at 50-all with 5:13 left.
 
But the Redbirds reeled off eight straight points to forge ahead, 58-50, at the 2:45 mark and sealed the victory at the free throw line in the final minute.
 
Phillips controlled the first 15 minutes of the game before two personals sent him to the bench. He scored seven of the team's first nine points to give the Seahawks an early boost and UNCW built a 15-point cushion with 5:53 left in the period on Khamari McGriff's reverse layup.
 
The Redbirds sliced the deficit to 27-20 with an 8-0 run as Reeves heated up. He scored all eight points in the streak, capped by a steal and free throw at 2:25 that brought the Redbirds within seven.
 
UNCW answered back, however, and took a 32-23 advantage into the break when Fornes sank a triple in the right corner near the Redbird bench.
 
GAME NOTES: The Seahawks now stand 2-4 against Illinois State…UNCW is 2-2 against ISU at Redbird Arena…UNCW scored 28 points in the paint…Sims grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for UNCW…UNCW had just eight turnovers in the contest…The Seahawks are 7-11 against Illinois teams through the years…The Seahawks are 26-30 in season openers since records became available in 1963-64…The Seahawks are 5-19 in true road openers…Seven players made their first appearance in a Seahawk uniform…There were six ties and four lead changes in the season debut for the teams.


 
Print Friendly Version