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sims_jmu_gamewinner_012022
Cathy Kushner/JMU Athletics
71
Winner UNCW UNCW 10-5,4-0 CAA
70
James Madison JMU 11-5,2-3 CAA
Winner
UNCW UNCW
10-5,4-0 CAA
71
Final
70
James Madison JMU
11-5,2-3 CAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 31 40 71
James Madison JMU 30 40 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Sims Lifts Seahawks To Seventh Heaven

HARRISONBURG, Virginia – In a game that featured numerous ebbs and flows, UNCW senior guard Jaylen Sims had the final say in a dramatic finish late Thursday night at James Madison's sparkling Atlantic Union Bank Center.
 
Sims, the Seahawks' veteran leader who has been on a tear, drained a three-pointer as time expired to give the Seahawks their seventh consecutive victory, 71-70, over a stunned JMU squad and former Seahawk standout and now JMU head coach Mark Byington.
 
The stirring win raised UNCW's record to 10-5 overall and kept the CAA's surprise team unbeaten in the circuit with an unblemished 4-0 record. The Dukes fell to 11-5 and 2-3 in league play.
 
"Unbelievable," is how Siddle described the photo finish. "I had a feeling that we were going to see something special tonight. I didn't know it was going to be that. We didn't play our best game. We were out of sync on the offensive end. Like our guys always do, they fought they were resilient and they battled through adversity."
 
With 1.4 seconds showing on the clock, and his team on the ropes, it was time for Siddle and his staff to draw up the game-winner.
 
Siddle said, "Coach (Travis) Hackert called it.  It was a late audible. Our guys did a great job of setting it up for Jaylen and he hit a big-time shot. I believe in Jaylen. He's been through a lot in his career. He's being very aggressive on both ends of the floor. I talked to the coaches and we wanted to go for the win."
 
Five players reached double figures for the Seahawks for the first time this season, led by 16 points apiece from graduate guard Jaylen Fornes and freshman guard Trazarien White. Junior guard Shykeim Phillips contributed 14, Sims had 11 and graduate guard Mike Okauru pitched in 10.
 
Redshirt junior guard Vado Morse poured in 25 points to pace the Dukes, while graduate guard Takal Molson added 13 and redshirt freshman forward Justin Amadi finished with 12.
 
The second half was full of runs by each team and JMU appeared to have the upper hand with a 65-58 lead after Morse dropped in a pair of free throws with 2:59 remaining.
 
But the slippery Phillips went to work in the paint and with the Dukes still ahead, 69-63, and 1:48 on the clock, Sims drained a three-pointer and Phillips added a bucket in the paint to help the Seahawks climb within, 69-68, with 40 seconds left.
 
Morse made the first of two free throws to get the lead back to 70-68 with 17 seconds showing, setting up a wild game-ending sequence on the UNCW end of the floor.
 
With time winding down, Phillips drove the left side, but slipped, fell to the AUBC floor and was forced to call a timeout. Siddle and his staff then drew up the decisive play for Sims, who coolly knocked down the buzzer beater, setting off a wild celebration by the Seahawks at mid-court.
 
The Seahawks forged out to a narrow 31-30 advantage at intermission following a see-saw first half that had nine lead changes and three ties.
 
UNCW trailed early, 16-13, after a layup on the right side by Amadi, but took advantage of a 4:58 drought by the Dukes to inch ahead. A three-pointer by Jaylen Sims on the left side – his first bucket of the game – then gave the Seahawks a 22-18 advantage at the 7:24 mark.
 
The Dukes responded later in the opening period by draining six consecutive shots and used a 6-0 spurt over a 75-second stretch for a 30-26 lead. Amadi's dunk with 4:07 on the clock helped the Dukes take control.
 
But the defense tightened for the Seahawks, who held the Dukes scoreless the remainder of the period. Back-to-back baskets by Fornes and Okauru made it 31-30 at the break.
 
The Seahawks, 2-0 on a grueling four-game road trip, continue the swing on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, with a 2 p.m. tip-off against Towson at SECU Arena in Towson, Md.
 
GAME NOTES: UNCW and JMU play again on Feb. 19, 2022, at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington…The two teams battled to a 40-all draw in the second half…JMU outrebounded UNCW, 39-29…The Seahawks had 17 second chance points…Sims led the Seahawks with five assists…Byington made 114 appearances for the Seahawks from 1995-98 and scored 1,088 points during his career in the Port City…In was the first matchup between the two teams at JMU's new venue…UNCW owns a 42-37 edge in the 79-game series vs. JMU…The Seahawks snapped a three-game losing streak to the Dukes…UNCW stands 15-23 all-time in Harrisonburg…The loss was only the second of the season in nine home games for the Dukes at the AUBC.



 
 
 
 
 
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