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UNC Wilmington Athletics

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okauru_mike_drexel
John Crouch
69
Winner UNCW UNCW 20-8,14-3 CAA
63
Drexel Drexel 14-13,9-8 CAA
Winner
UNCW UNCW
20-8,14-3 CAA
69
Final
63
Drexel Drexel
14-13,9-8 CAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 30 39 69
Drexel Drexel 30 33 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Move Step Closer To CAA Title

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – The UNCW men's basketball team picked up a much-needed victory to keep atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings and got it late Thursday night at Drexel's cozy Daskalakis Center.
 
The Seahawks, 20-8 overall and 14-3 in the CAA, recorded the eighth 20-win season in the history of the program and the first since 2016-17. UNCW travels over to Newark, Del., on Saturday for the regular season finale against Delaware's Blue Hens.
 
The Dragons had a two-game winning streak snapped and stand 14-13 overall and 9-8 in the conference. UNCW sits in first place by a half game over Towson (13-3). Hofstra (11-6) and Delaware (10-6) stand third and fourth.
 
"I just told them that we had to start getting stops," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's head coach. "At one point, Drexel scored on five straight possessions. We knew we had to get stops to win the ball game.
 
"This game shows our mental toughness and our will to win. Guys made big plays at the right time and we came out with a great victory."
 
Senior guard Jaylen Sims paced the Seahawks with 17 points, including 10 in the crucial second period. Freshman guard Trazarien White added his second double-double of 14 points and 11 boards, graduate guard Mike Okauru collected 14 and graduate guard James Baker, Jr., finished with 10.
 
Sophomore forward Amari Williams had a monster night for the Dragons, racking up 20 points and 19 boards. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Camren Wynter chipped in 14 points, sophomore guard Xavier Bell collected 12 points and graduate guard Melik Martin wound up with 11.
 
The two clubs were locked in a tight game and the Seahawks found themselves trailing, 59-57, with 2:33 remaining. True to their form all season, though, UNCW outscored Drexel, 12-4, the rest of the way and came up with several key possessions in the waning moments to nail down another close win.
 
Williams tipped in his own miss with 2:33 left, but missed the front end of a bonus situation, setting up UNCW's decisive rally in the final two minutes.
 
Okauru got it started with a three-point splash from the top of the key with 1:54 left to put the Seahawks ahead for good, 60-59, and after a defensive stop, graduate guard Jaylen Fornes sank a contested three-pointer deep in the left corner to extend the margin to 63-59 with 58 seconds on the clock.
 
Okauru then turned in a clutch defensive play on the other end, swatting away Wynter's layup attempt with 24 seconds left. The Seahawks then converted six straight free throws in the final 23 ticks to ice the game.
 
UNCW opened the game with an 8-0 run before Drexel responded with eight consecutive points as part of a 15-3 run for the Dragons. Bell's jumper in the paint gave the Dragons a 15-11 advantage with 12:47 left in the opening period.
 
The Seahawks regrouped with an 8-2 mini-run and forged ahead, 19-17, on a pair of free throws by Sims at the 8:14 mark, his first points of the contest.
 
The lead changed eight times in the final seven minutes of the first half and the two clubs went into intermission deadlocked at 30-all.
 
Williams had a huge first half for the Dragons. The 6-10 forward had a double-double with 6:40 remaining in the first half and closed out the first 20 minutes with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

GAME NOTES: The win gives the Seahawks four series sweeps this season (Charleston, Drexel, James Madison and William & Mary)…The Seahawks shot 40 percent on the night and the Dragons finished at 39.3 percent…UNCW is now 10-2 in games decided by six points or less this season…Drexel closed with a 48-34 advantage on the glass…Each team made seven treys…The Seahawks own a 23-15 advantage in the series…UNCW is now 9-8 all-time at the Daskalakis Center…The Seahawks have taken three of the last four games against the Dragons…The Seahawks are 8-5 in true road games this season, including 6-2 in conference roadies…UNCW had just one turnover in the first half and finished with a season-low five miscues…There were 14 lead changes and eight ties in the contest…Reserve guard Jahmari Harvey sat out his second straight game with a foot injury.

 
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