Seahawks Advance In Roman CBI Tourney

Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – First-Team All-CAA performer Jaylen Sims filled up the stat sheet and graduate transfer Mike Okauru exploded in the second half as UNCW advanced to the second round of the Roman College Basketball Invitational with a 93-78 victory over scrappy VMI early Sunday at the Ocean Center.

The Seahawks, the No. 9 seed, hiked their record to 24-9 on the season with their first game on the hardwood since suffering a loss to Delaware in the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament 12 days ago in the nation's capital. VMI, the No. 8 seed, closed out the year with a 16-16 mark.

UNCW moves on to play top-seeded Drake on Monday at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs routed Purdue Fort Wayne, 87-65, on Saturday in the CBI opener. UNCW, making its 10^th postseason appearance and first in the CBI, collected its second postseason victory.

"It was a total team effort and I'm very proud of the guys," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's second-year head coach. "We did have some spurts in the first half where we played very good defense. We played a complete half in the second half. We shared the ball well, we assisted on half of our made field goals and guys stepped up and made shots."

Sims, from Charlotte, N.C., pumped in 18 points and added eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in an all-around effort. Okauru led all scorers with 27 points, including 22 in the second half, and graduate guard James Baker, Jr., and junior guard Shykeim Phillips chipped in 13 and 10 points.

Sophomore guard Trey Bonham paced three Keydets in double figures with 26 points. Senior center Jake Stephens scored 23 points and junior guard Kamdyn Curfman finished with 18 for the Keydets, who shot 40 percent on the day.

VMI entered the contest as the nation's top three-point producer with 12.6 treys each game, but was limited to 11-of-33 behind the arc. UNCW, meanwhile, converted 10-of-25 from deep and 6-of-12 in the final period.

In only the third meeting between the two teams, the Seahawks held VMI's long distance attack in check and cranked up its offense with a season-high 93 points, besting the previous high of 92 points at William & Mary on Feb. 5, 2022, in Williamsburg.

UNCW carved out a 39-37 edge at halftime and rode Okauru's hot hand in the first 10 minutes of the second half to finally gain separation from the Keydets.

Okauru erupted for 14 points in the first 7:34 of the second half to help the Seahawks break away. The Raleigh product's back-to-back three-pointers gave the Seahawks a 60-51 advantage with 12:26 left before VMI responded with a pair of triples and sliced the deficit to 60-57 on a three-pointer by Jake Stephens at 11:51.

But Okauru made a driving layup to key a 12-3 spurt to put the game out of reach. Graduate guard Jaylen Fornes had five points in the rally and the Pamlico County native's layup with 8:40 on the clock put the Seahawks back ahead, 72-60.

UNCW registered its largest lead of the game with 2:04 remaining on another layup by Okauru as the lead ballooned to 87-72.

The Seahawks took a 39-37 lead into the break after a back-and-forth first half that saw each team lead by as many as seven points.

The Keydets went up early, 13-6, after making four consecutive baskets, capped by Bonham's three-pointer at the 15-minute mark as VMI controlled the early part of the contest.

Reserve guard Jamarii Thomas provided a spark late in the half as the Seahawks regrouped. Trailing 27-25 after a Stephens bucket inside, the Seahawks took the lead when Thomas reeled off seven straight points. The Greensboro rookie finished the first half with nine points in nine minutes off the bench.

GAME NOTES: UNCW scored 40 points in the paint….The Seahawks had 11 steals and scored 21 points off 18 VMI turnovers…VMI outrebounded UNCW, 36-34…UNCW outscored VMI in the second half, 54-41…VMI sank 23-of-25 free throws…The Seahawks lead the series, 3-0….UNCW is 4-4 in neutral games since Siddle's arrival…UNCW is 22-22 lifetime vs. Southern Conference opponents…The Seahawks are 5-1 against Virginia foes this year…There were four ties and eight lead changes in the contest.

CBI FIRST ROUND
Game 1: No. 1 Drake 87, No. 16 Purdue Fort Wayne 65
Game 2: No. 13 UNC Asheville 80, No. 4 Stephen F. Austin 68
Game 3: No. 2 Middle Tennessee 64, No. 15 California Baptist 58
Game 4: No. 3 Ohio 65, No. 14 Rice 64
Game 5: No. 9 UNCW 93, No. 8 VMI 78
Game 6: No. 12 Northern Colorado 71, No. 5 Florida Atlantic 71
Game 7: No. 10 Boston University 71, No. 7 UNC Greensboro 68
Game 8: No. 6 Abilene Christian 82, No. 11 Troy 70

CBI QUARTERFINALS
Game 9: Drake vs. UNCW, March 21 at 1 p.m. ET
Game 10: UNC Asheville vs. Northern Colorado, March 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Game 11: Middle Tennessee vs. Boston University, March 21 at 6 p.m. ET
Game 12: Ohio vs. Abilene Christian, March 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET

CBI SEMIFINALS
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, March 22 at 7 p.m. ET
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, March 22 at 9 p.m. ET

CBI CHAMPIONSHIP
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, March 23 at 5 p.m. ET

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#30 Jaylen Sims: G; 6' 6"; Senior

#3 James Baker, Jr.: G; 6' 7"; Graduate Student

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

#0 Jamarii Thomas: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#30 Jaylen Sims
: 6' 6"; Senior
: G

#3 James Baker, Jr.
: 6' 7"; Graduate Student
: G

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

#0 Jamarii Thomas
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G

UNC Wilmington Athletics

Scoreboard

Events/Results

Seahawks Advance In Roman CBI Tourney

Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#30 Jaylen Sims

#3 James Baker, Jr.

#1 Jaylen Fornes

#0 Jamarii Thomas

Players Mentioned

#4 Mike Okauru

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#30 Jaylen Sims

#3 James Baker, Jr.

#1 Jaylen Fornes

#0 Jamarii Thomas