Okauru Catches Fire In Williamsburg

Box Score WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia – Graduate guard Mike Okauru came out firing and the rest of the UNCW men's basketball team followed suit as the Seahawks blew past Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary, 92-70, early Saturday at Kaplan Arena.

The Seahawks, playing the middle game of a three-game road swing, enjoyed a strong bounce back game and improved to 16-6 overall and 10-1 in conference play. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for UNCW in Williamsburg. The Tribe fell to 5-19 and 4-7.

The Seahawks have won 13 out of their last 14 games and increased their lead in the CAA standings to two games over Towson (9-3) after Northeastern stunned the Tigers, 58-53, earlier in the day at Matthews Arena in Boston.

UNCW used a long distance barrage to win for the first time in Williamsburg since Jan. 21, 2012. The Seahawks buried 17-of-30 trifectas for their best effort of the season from long distance. It was the most three-pointers for the Seahawks since canning 17-of-30 vs. N.C. Wesleyan at home on Nov. 19, 2019.

"I saw a team that was ticked off because they lost and wanted to come out and get well," said second-year head coach Takayo Siddle. "I'm very proud of our guys. I thought everyone had great energy all day. When you lose a game, there's always some concern leading into the next game, but when I woke up this morning, I felt very good about our mentality and attitude coming into this game.

"We hit some rhythm threes early and guys were feeling it. The right guys were taking the threes. They were stepping into them and knocking them down. We had 20 assists on those 34 baskets and I'm really proud of everyone."

Okauru, from Raleigh, N.C., was red-hot from start to finish, pocketing 15 points in each half and adding three rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes of action. He matched his career high of 30 points set almost to the day on Jan. 31, 2021, in a six-point loss to Hofstra in Wilmington.

Graduate guard Jaylen Fornes pitched in 19 points, four rebounds and nine assists and junior guard Shykeim Phillips finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore guard Connor Kochera paced four W&M players in double figures with 16 points. The Tribe also got solid scoring from Brandon Carroll (15), Tyler Rice (13) and Ben Wight (11).

In the first of two back-to-back nationally televised games on the CBS Sports Network, the Seahawks established control early and led by as many as 23 points down the stretch. One game after making just 34.5 percent in a loss at Elon, the Seahawks shot a robust 61.8 percent, including 74.1 percent in the second half, to erase any thoughts of a hangover.

Leading 38-25 at intermission, the Seahawks started strong in the final half when Okauru picked up where he left off with a three-ball in the right corner just 13 seconds into second half.

W&M managed to close the gap to 11 points on two occasions – the last time with 7:43 left in the contest – before the Seahawks slammed the door shut the rest of the way. Okauru capped his career-tying night with a banked three-pointer with 1:13 on the clock as the lead ballooned to 90-69.

Okauru's performance represented the first time a Seahawk had reached the 30-point plateau since he achieved the feat one year ago against the Pride at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks, behind Okauru's hot hand, came out firing early Saturday to send a message to the Tribe. Down 8-7, the Seahawks scored 11 straight points and Okauru's three-ball put UNCW ahead, 18-8, at 12:52. Okauru had 15 points on 6-of-9 field goals and 3-of-4 triples before going to the bench with two personal fouls at the 6:44 mark of the opening period.

W&M narrowed the deficit to seven points, 28-21, when Rice banked in a jumper at 4:09 before the Seahawks finished the half with a flourish. Philips came alive, scoring two baskets, and Jahmari Harvey's trifecta with 46 ticks left gave the Seahawks a 38-25 cushion at the break.

The Seahawks wound up shooting 50 percent in the opening period, hitting 14-of-28 field goals, including 7-of-15 from long distance.

The Seahawks conclude their three-game road trip with another nationally televised game on Monday when they take on Hofstra in a 5 p.m. tip at the Mack Sports Complex on Long Island.

GAME NOTES: The Seahawks are 7-4 in true road games and 5-1 in conference road outings… UNCW leads the all-time series by a 46-32 margin…The Seahawks are 1-1 against W&M's Dane Fischer…UNCW stands 3-0 against Virginia teams this season…UNCW won its first game in February…The Seahawks outrebounded the Tribe, 30-25…UNCW led for 37:01 of the contest…The Seahawks had 25 bench points…The Seahawks had nine turnovers in the first half and only two in the second period...The Seahawks now stand 20-18 in Williamsburg through the years…The winning margin was the fourth highest in Siddle's two seasons in Wilmington…Okauru's 30 points gives him 996 for his career, just four away from the 1,000-point plateau.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru: G; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

#2 Shykeim Phillips: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#1 Jaylen Fornes: G; 6' 3"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: G

#2 Shykeim Phillips
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#1 Jaylen Fornes
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student
: G

UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Okauru Catches Fire In Williamsburg

Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#1 Jaylen Fornes

Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#1 Jaylen Fornes