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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Seahawks, Tribe Tangle In Rare Weekday Matinee

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Love may or may not be in the air early Monday (Feb. 14, 2022) when the surging UNCW men's basketball team squares off against Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary in a rare weekday afternoon tilt at Trask Coliseum.
 
The first-place Seahawks (17-7, 11-2 CAA) and Tribe (5-21, 4-9 CAA) are set for a 2 p.m. tip in the Port City. The two clubs just met nine days ago in Williamsburg, Va., where the Seahawks cruised to a 92-70 rout behind an impressive long distance assault.
 
Monday's matchup will be carried locally on The Breeze 95.9 FM and aired on the CAA's streaming partner, FloHoops.com, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer on the call.
 
The matchup marks the first time in the 78-game rivalry that the two teams have met on Valentine's Day. William & Mary won the only meeting, 64-51, on Feb. 14, 1998. UNCW owns a 7-11 overall record on Valentine's Day and stands 4-5 on its home floor on the special day.
 
UNCW is looking for its third CAA sweep of the season after going unbeaten against Charleston and Northeastern. The Seahawks have alternated wins and losses in the month of February following a clean January.
 
In the first meeting between the Seahawks and Tribe at Kaplan Arena, UNCW unleashed a lethal outside attack keyed by a season-best 61.8 percent shooting. Graduate guard Mike Okauru paved the way by matching his career-high with 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 8-of-10 beyond the arc.
 
The Seahawks have reeled off eight consecutive home victories since a 74-69 defeat to Norfolk State back on Dec. 1, 2021. In that span, UNCW has shot 46 percent from the floor, 38 percent from deep and 76 percent at the free throw line. UNCW is averaging 74.1 ppg and holding the opposition to just 64.5 ppg in the hot stretch.
 
Graduate guard Jaylen Fornes, who made his fourth start of the season in Saturday's hard-earned win over the Cougars, has fond memories of the Tribe. The Pamlico County, N.C., product has put up career numbers twice against W&M. He poured in a career-best 27 points at W&M on Feb. 22, 2018, and dished out a career-high nine assists in his last appearance against the Tribe on Feb. 5, 2022.
 
In the last game played between the two teams in Wilmington, six Seahawks scored during a 17-3 run midway through the second half to push UNCW past William & Mary, on Feb. 8, 2020. The Seahawks trailed by as many as 14 points early in the first half, but rallied to close the gap to 35-34 at halftime. Okauru led the Seahawks in scoring for the fourth time with 15 points. W&M was led by NBA-bound Nathan Knight's 42nd career double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Seahawks play the third game of a four-game home stand on Thursday with a nationally-televised matchup against second place Towson at 7 p.m. The contest will be aired on the CBS Sports Network.
 
UNCW-W&M Net Notes
 
The Seahawks are 1-1 against third-year Tribe head coach Dane Fischer. The Tribe ousted the Seahawks from the CAA Tournament one year ago in Harrisonburg, Va., before UNCW waxed W&M, 92-70, nine days ago at Kaplan Arena.
 
Four Seahawks – James Baker, Jr., Jaylen Fornes, Jaylen Sims and Mike Okauru – have reached 1,000 points during their collegiate careers.
 
UNCW owns a 10-1 record at Trask Coliseum this season, including eight in a row over Mount Olive, Campbell, Delaware, Elon, Northeastern, Hofstra, Drexel and Charleston.
 
Head Coach Takayo Siddle owns a 13-5 record in home games over two seasons. He went 3-4 last year before this season's sparkling 10-1 ledger. In CAA contests, Siddle stands 7-4 all-time at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks and Tribe are meeting for the 79th time. UNCW leads the all-time series by a 46-32 margin. William & Mary has won six out of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
 
The Seahawks are 24-13 against the Tribe at Trask Coliseum. W&M has dropped two straight in Wilmington. The Tribe's last win in the Port City came on Jan. 27, 2018, in a 96-78 rout at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks are 2-1 against Virginia-based opponents this season. UNCW has won 47.1 percent of its games (189-212) vs. 18 teams from the state of Virginia through the years.

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

Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

G
6' 4"
Graduate Student
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

G
6' 6"
Senior
James Baker, Jr.

#3 James Baker, Jr.

G
6' 7"
Graduate Student
Jaylen Fornes

#1 Jaylen Fornes

G
6' 3"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Mike Okauru

#4 Mike Okauru

6' 4"
Graduate Student
G
Jaylen Sims

#30 Jaylen Sims

6' 6"
Senior
G
James Baker, Jr.

#3 James Baker, Jr.

6' 7"
Graduate Student
G
Jaylen Fornes

#1 Jaylen Fornes

6' 3"
Graduate Student
G