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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

First-Place Seahawks Visit Dukes, Byington

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW's high-flying Seahawks head up to Virginia's snow-laden Shenandoah Valley on Thursday to take on James Madison in the first leg of a six-day men's basketball journey that will carry the team from the rolling hills of western Virginia to Baltimore to Boston.
 
The Seahawks, 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association, maintained their hold on first place in the circuit with an 86-78 victory over Charleston late Monday at TD Arena. The Seahawks have won six in a row and stand 3-3 in true road games this year.
 
UNCW will face the Dukes, 11-4 and 2-2, for the first time at the new 8,500-seat Atlantic Union Bank Center. The Seahawks did play in the arena at last year's CAA Championship, but met William & Mary in the first-round.
 
The UNCW-JMU game will be carried locally on The Breeze 95.9 FM and aired on the CAA's streaming partner, FloHoops.com. Play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro will be on the call.
 
"Monday night's win was special, but we have to keep our eyes on the prize," said second-year head coach Takayo Siddle, who picked up his first CAA road victory. "We're just trying to get as much rest as we can with this challenging road schedule. At the same time, we have to focus on the task at hand and be ready to play in Harrisonburg.
 
"JMU is a very good basketball team with a lot of firepower. Coach (Mark) Byington does a great job with them and they'll be ready to bounce back on Thursday night following a tough loss at Elon."
 
After a one-year delay, Thursday's 7 p.m. tip will mark the first time the Seahawks have faced Byington, a Seahawk alum, since he became JMU's 11th head coach on March 20, 2020. The Salem, Va., product took over the JMU program last season from Georgia Southern. He made 114 appearances for the Seahawks from 1995-98 and averaged 9.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists over four seasons.
 
Byington is one of 19 players to score 1,000 points for the Seahawks and was part of teams that compiled a 65-52 record. He ranks sixth all-time in three-point field goals made with 81 triples.
 
In the last matchup between UNCW and JMU, the Dukes started quickly and cruised to an 83-66 victory on Feb. 1, 2020, at the JMU Convocation Center. All-CAA guard Matt Lewis poured in 19 of his 21 points in the second half and anchored four players in double figures to help the Dukes snap a seven-game losing streak. Mike Okauru of UNCW led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Jaylen Sims added 11 points and Ty Gadsden had 10 for the Seahawks, who shot 40 percent on the night.
 
Sims and Company, meanwhile, picked up a hard-earned victory in Charleston. Sims, Shykeim Phillips and Jaylen Fornes combined to score 60 points in the eight-point decision over the Dukes. Sims erupted for a season-high 24 points to top the Seahawks in the scoring column, followed by Phillips with a career-matching 20 points and Fornes with a season-high 16 as the Seahawks won for the fifth time in eight tries at TD Arena.
 
The Seahawks continue their extended road trip early Saturday with an afternoon matchup at Towson (Jan. 22) before traveling to Boston to battle Northeastern (Jan. 24).
 
UNCW-JMU Net Notes

UNCW owns a 41-37 edge in the 78-game series vs. JMU. UNCW won the inaugural game on Dec. 16, 1979, and took 14 straight from Jan. 20, 2001, through Jan. 10, 2008.
 
The Seahawks and Dukes have gone eight times beyond regulation in the series. JMU has claimed five of those overtime games
 
The Seahawks are playing the second of five games against Virginia opponents in 2021-22. UNCW has won 46.9 percent of its games (187-212) vs. 18 teams from the state of Virginia through the years.
 
The UNCW-JMU series is the second longest on record for the Seahawks, ranking only behind longtime state rival Campbell in longevity.

For complete coverage of UNCW Men's Basketball, follow the Seahawks on the official home of UNCW Athletics, UNCWSports.com, or through our social media channels: @UNCWmenshoops (Twitter), facebook.com/UNCWMensBasketball (Facebook), @UNCWBasketball (Instagram).
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Players Mentioned

Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

G
6' 1"
Junior
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

G
6' 6"
Sophomore
Shykeim Phillips

#2 Shykeim Phillips

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

G
6' 3"
Junior
Jaylen Fornes

#1 Jaylen Fornes

G
6' 3"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Ty Gadsden

#0 Ty Gadsden

6' 1"
Junior
G
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

6' 6"
Sophomore
G
Shykeim Phillips

#2 Shykeim Phillips

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

6' 3"
Junior
G
Jaylen Fornes

#1 Jaylen Fornes

6' 3"
Graduate Student
G