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Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Seahawks Aim To Keep Streak Intact

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The streaking UNCW men's basketball team shoots up to the Triad on Thursday to put their school-record 12-game winning streak on the line against Elon's Phoenix.
 
The Seahawks, 15-5 overall and atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings with an unblemished 9-0 record, are seeking to become the first team in Seahawk history to start 10-0 in the CAA. Elon stands 6-16 overall and 3-6 in the loop.
 
Thursday's conference tilt 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 on the call.
 
UNCW, ranked 22nd in this week's CollegeInser.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, is eyeing a sweep of the regular season series against Elon after claiming the initial meeting on Jan. 12, 2022, in Wilmington. UNCW reversed a 10-point deficit with a smothering 19-2 run late in the second half to soar past the Phoenix, 73-66, at Trask Coliseum.  
 
"This has been a special run," said second-year head coach Takayo Siddle. "We're playing efficient on the offensive end and playing to our strengths defensively. We're getting timely stops. Our defense is creating offense for us.
 
"Our mental toughness has really grown over the last month. We've been through a lot of adversity. In these 40-minute games, when we face adversity, our guys understand how to get through it and get on the other side of it. We have a bunch of resilient guys who want to win and have a will to win."

Senior guard Jaylen Sims scored 10 points in each period for a team-high 20 points as four of UNCW's five starters reached double digits in the first matchup with Mike Schrage's Phoenix. Graduate guard Mike Okauru added 13 points, junior guard Shykeim Phillips collected 11 markers and graduate guard James Baker, Jr., had 10 and eight rebounds.
 
UNCW is trying to breaking into the winning column at the Schar Center, where the Seahawks have dropped their first two appearances in 2019 and 2020.
 
In the last pairing in Elon, the Phoenix opened the second half with a 24-1 spurt to race past UNCW, 80-63, on Jan. 11, 2020. Trailing 38-33 at halftime, Elon capitalized on UNCW's cold start in the final period to catch up and then build a comfortable margin. The Seahawks missed their first 13 field goal attempts of the second half and the Phoenix capitalized on the drought, outscoring UNCW in the final period, 47-25.
 
Elon sharpshooter Zac Ervin led all scorers in the contest with 27 points on 9-of-14 from the floor, going 7-of-12 from long distance and 2-of-2 at the free throw stripe. Okauru paced the Seahawks with 15 points, while Sims chipped in 12.
 
Sims tops three Seahawks in double figures this time around. The versatile guard from Charlotte is averaging 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds and has led the team in scoring 10 times. Okauru is chipping in 11.9 points and 4.2 boards, while junior guard Shykeim Phillips is contributing 11 points and 3.4 caroms.
 
Explosive sophomore guard Darius Burford paces the Phoenix at 12.6 ppg. Junior guard Hunter McIntosh is adding 11.8 ppg.
 
The contest kicks off another extended road trip for the Seahawks, who stand 6-3 away from home this season. Siddle's crew next moves over to Williamsburg, Va., early Saturday for the first of two nationally-televised (CBS Sports Network) games against William & Mary and Hofstra. Saturday's tip time at Kaplan Arena is set for 4 p.m.
 
UNCW-Elon Net Notes

Thursday night marks the 27th meeting between the two schools and the 16th as Colonial Athletic Association foes. The series is dead-even at 13 wins apiece. The two clubs have split 16 games since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014-15.
 
The Phoenix took the first six games in the series before the Seahawks claimed six consecutive matchups until Elon's win on Feb. 28, 2015. The two teams did not play for 19 years until resuming the series during the 2004-05 campaign. Schrage is the fifth Elon coach the Seahawks have faced through the years.
 
Siddle and Schrage each have connections to Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann. Siddle served three years as an assistant coach under Holtmann at Gardner-Webb during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Schrage worked as an aide for Holtmann at Butler (2016-17) and Ohio State (2017-18, 2018-19) before taking over at Elon.
 
The Seahawks are facing Schrage for the fourth time. Schrage is 3-1 against UNCW and is 2-0 against UNCW on his home floor.
 
The Seahawks are a perfect 5-0 against in-state teams in 2021-22 (Guilford, Mount Olive, High Point, Campbell, Elon). Thursday marks the sixth and final game against a North Carolina foe this season.
 
The Seahawks have just 10 games remaining in the regular season - split evenly at home and on the road. With 15 victories, the club is trying become only the eight team in the school's NCAA Division I history to reach the 20-win plateau.
 
Graduate guard James Baker, Jr., who joined the team this season from Morehead State, has scored 964 points in 139 games at Morehead and UNCW. The Louisville, Ky., product needs just 36 points to give the Seahawks a trio of 1,000-pooint scorers.

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

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
James Baker, Jr.

#3 James Baker, Jr.

G
6' 7"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

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
James Baker, Jr.

#3 James Baker, Jr.

6' 7"
Graduate Student
G