Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

game_graphic_No26_phillips

Men's Basketball Joe Browning

CAA's Dominant Teams Collide At Trask

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Two surging teams on a collision course all season finally meet when UNCW takes on Towson in a pivotal Colonial Athletic Association matchup on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The first-place Seahawks (18-7, 12-2 CAA) and second-place Tigers (19-7, 10-3) get together at 6 p.m. in a game being carried nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Thursday's matchup will also be carried locally on The Breeze 95.9 FM, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer on the call.
 
The Seahawks can strengthen their hold on first place in the CAA with just four games remaining in the regular season. UNCW has won 15 of its last 17 games and after Thursday's tilt, has just three games remaining in the campaign - one at home (James Madison) and two on the road (Drexel and Delaware).
 
UNCW is clinging to a 1.5 game lead over second place Towson (10-3) in the CAA's regular season standings. Hofstra (10-4) holds down third place.
 
"I expect it to be a heavyweight battle," said second-year UNCW head coach Takayo Siddle. "It will be a lot like when we played up there. The toughest team and who wants it the most is going to win. Both teams have very good players and both know their identity."
 
In their last appearance, the Seahawks were pushed to the limit by a feisty William & Mary bunch that anchors the cellar in the circuit. Seahawk senior guard Jaylen Sims poured in a game-high 26 points and junior guard Shykeim Phillips ignited the team in overtime to propel UNCW past the Tribe, 80-73, in a rare weekday afternoon tip on Monday at Trask Coliseum.
 
Sims nailed down his second straight 20-point performance and connected on 8-of-13 field goals. Phillips wound up with a career-high 24 points, with 11 points in overtime, along with a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Towson, meanwhile, posted the highest margin of victory in a game between two CAA opponents this season by steamrolling Eon, 86-50, last Saturday at SECU Arena. The Tigers reeled off a 26-0 run in the game and limited Elon to 16 points in the first half en route to the victory. The Tigers led by as many as 46 points midway through the second half and held Elon scoreless for a span of 10:56 in the game.
 
In the win over the Phoenix, the Tigers recorded their highest margin of victory over an NCAA Division I opponent since Mar. 7, 1992, when then-Towson State routed Buffalo 122-58. Towson also enjoyed its top scoring defense performance since Feb. 15, 2020, when the Tigers defeated James Madison, 63-48. Towson junior forward Charles Thompson led all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
 
UNCW and Towson are staging the rematch of a game played 26 days ago at SECU Arena. The resilient Seahawks rallied in the second half to force overtime and remained the only unbeaten team in the CAA with a hard-earned 81-77 victory. Sophomore guard Shykeim Phillips anchored five Seahawks in double figures with 18 points, followed by senior guard Jaylen Sims with 15, Jaylen Fornes with 13, Jahmari Harvey with 12 and James Baker, Jr., with 10. Graduate transfer Cam Holden paced the Tigers with 18 points. After storming back in the second half and missing an opportunity to win the game in regulation, the Seahawks outscored the Tigers in the extra session, 16-12, for their second OT victory of the season.
 
The Seahawks play the regular season home finale on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Trask Coliseum. Senior Night festivities will be held before the game and a special jersey retirement ceremony for all-time great Devontae Cacok is planned for halftime.
 
UNCW-Towson Net Notes
 
UNCW owns an 11-1 record at Trask Coliseum this season, including nine in a row over Mount Olive, Campbell, Delaware, Elon, Northeastern, Hofstra, Drexel, Charleston and William & Mary. UNCWs only loss in the Port City came on Dec. 1, 2021, to Norfolk State.
 
The Seahawks' 11 home victories represent the most home wins for the Seahawks since the 2016-17 season when Kevin Keatts' final team went 13-1 in Wilmington.
 
UNCW and Towson are meeting for the 46th time. The Seahawks own a 25-20 advantage in the series.
 
Towson has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two teams. UNCW stands 22-16 vs. Towson in CAA games and 12-4 at Trask Coliseum since the Tigers joined the CAA in 2001-02
 
UNCW owns a 14-4 record against Towson at Trask Coliseum, but has dropped two straight to the Tigers in Wilmington by a total of eight points.
 
In Towson's last appearance on the North Carolina coast, a pair of clutch three-pointers by guards Brian Fobbs and Allen Betrand near the three-minute mark of the second half broke open a tie game and sent Towson past UNCW, 67-60, on Jan. 4, 2020. Fobbs and Betrand led all scorers with 16 points each on 12-for-27 shooting. The Tigers, who built a 27-21 lead at the break, increased their lead to 10 points five minutes into the final period before the Seahawks rallied.
 
Takayo Siddle is 1-2 against Towson after dropping a pair of close games last year at SECU Arena and then taking the thriller on Jan. 22, 2022. UNCW stands 9-11 against Towson's Pat Skerry through the years and 5-3 vs. the veteran Tiger skipper at Trask Coliseum.
 
Led by Phillips and Sims, the Seahawks have shot 75.9 percent at the free throw line in the last five minutes of games. Phillips has drained 24-of-27 free throws for 88.9 percent, while Sims has connected on 47-of-55 for 85.5 percent.
 
Four players - Okauru Phillips, Sims and James Baker, Jr., - have started all 14 CAA games for the Seahawks this season.
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Shykeim Phillips

#2 Shykeim Phillips

G
6' 2"
Junior
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

Shykeim Phillips

#2 Shykeim Phillips

6' 2"
Junior
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