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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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phillips_shykeim_hpu
Jeff Sochko/Tim Cowie Photograph
71
Winner UNCW UNCW 5-5,0-0 CAA
69
High Point HP 5-6,0-0 Big South
Winner
UNCW UNCW
5-5,0-0 CAA
71
Final
69
High Point HP
5-6,0-0 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
UNCW UNCW 29 30 12 71
High Point HP 26 33 10 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Phillips, Sims Lift Seahawks In OT

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Takayo Siddle called Shykeim Phillips "a natural born scorer" during his postgame television interview early Saturday. The crafty guard from Winterville, N.C., proved it in a clutch performance for the Seahawks at the Qubein Center.
 
Phillips pocketed a season high 17 points – including the first eight points for the Seahawks in the extra period – and Jaylen Sims tossed in the game-winner with two seconds remaining to help UNCW register a 71-69 overtime victory over stubborn High Point
 
Playing their first game in the new 4,200-seat arena, the Seahawks won their second in a row to even the ledger at 5-5 this season. The Panthers, playing for the first time in eight days, dipped under .500 and stand 5-6.
 
Phillips converted 8-of-13 shots and added five rebounds off the bench for UNCW, which shot 45.4 percent from the floor. Sims collected 14 points and seven boards and graduate guard Mike Okauru contributed 13 points in the first meeting between the two schools since 2001.
 
Junior guard John-Michael Wright poured in 28 points for the Panthers to lead all scorers. Redshirt freshman forward Zach Austin was the only other HPU player in double figures with 10 points.
 
The Seahawks grabbed a 29-26 advantage at the break and extended the lead to 14 points, 53-39, midway through the final period before the Panthers caught up. In a back-and-forth extra period, Phillips dominated early before Sims finished it off in an uplifting win for the Seahawks.
 
"Today I learned that our guys are extremely tough," said Siddle, who improved to 11-8 in non-conference games in two seasons. "Give credit to High Point. They kept on swinging. We kept on swinging. We responded the right way.
 
"Winning on the road is special, but it's hard. We've been through a lot. That was a team character win. Our guys bounced back from last week with a lot of toughness. And we became closer through adversity."
 
The Seahawks appeared to be on track for the win late in the second half following a driving layup by reserve guard Jaylen Fornes gave Siddle's club its largest lead of the game, 53-39, with 9:33 remaining.
 
Wright keyed a 15-3 spurt for the Panthers, however, and HPU finally evened the score at 59-all in regulation when junior guard Bryant Randleman sliced through the defense for the tying layup with nine seconds left.
 
In OT, Phillips came out with the hot hand, scoring the first four buckets for the Seahawks until he fouled out with 30 seconds on the clock. UNCW led, 69-66, when Sims dropped in a free throw, but Wright responded with a clutch three-pointer in the left corner with 11 seconds on the clock to knot the score at 69-all.
 
Sims then silenced the crowd with his game-winner when he drove through the middle of the paint and connected on a short jumper with two seconds showing.
 
"Shykeim is such a talented offensive player," Siddle added. "We just wanted to give him space so he could make plays and he did that tonight. Having him in there to make plays for himself or his teammates, was really important."
 
The Seahawks controlled the boards, outrebounding HPU, 43-35, and scored 19 points off 17 turnovers by the Panthers. UNCW also came up with 10 steals, four blocks and three dunks on the day.
 
The teams traded buckets early before the Seahawks built a 28-19 advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half. Phillips capped an 11-2 spurt and seven-point run with a steal and layup that put the Seahawks on top, 28-19, at the 3:09 mark.
 
HPU netted seven of the final eight points of the first period, capped by a three-pointer in front of the Seahawk bench as time expired by Jaden House to close the gap to 29-26 at intermission.
 
Both clubs shot a frosty 37 percent and combined for 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes in a defense-dominated opening period.
 
The Seahawks conclude their pre-Christmas slate and non-conference schedule on Wednesday with a noon tip against longtime rival Campbell at Trask Coliseum.
 
GAME NOTES: Seven players scored at least five points for UNCW…The Seahawks won their fourth straight in the series against the Panthers…UNCW played away from home for the sixth time in 10 games…High Point still owns a 10-7 advantage in the series…UNCW stands 123-94 lifetime against Big South Conference opponents…The Seahawks are a perfect 3-0 against North Carolina foes this season…UNCW is 2-2 in December…Tubby Smith has 636 wins as a head coach…Takayo Siddle is 6-4 in December games in two seasons…The Seahawks play five of their seven games this month at home…There were 10 lead changes and six ties in the contest.

 
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