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MBB vs. Elon
Douglas Neeb
54
Elon Elon 2-17,0-6 CAA
62
Winner UNCW UNCW 15-5,5-2 CAA
Elon Elon
2-17,0-6 CAA
54
Final
62
UNCW UNCW
15-5,5-2 CAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elon Elon 25 29 54
UNCW UNCW 28 34 62

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Seahawks Complete Sweep Of Phoenix

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Senior forward Amari Kelly notched his first career double-double and sophomore forward Eric Van Der Heijden came off the bench to provide a spark to lift UNCW past Elon, 62-54, in a low scoring Colonial Athletic Association matchup on Monday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Seahawks, wrapping up a three-game conference home stand, snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in the CAA. UNCW is tied with Hofstra for second place in the circuit heading into a matchup with the Pride on Thursday on Long Island.
 
The Phoenix dropped their ninth in a row to plummet to 2-17 and 0-6. Elon has not won since a 101-69 rout of NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales on Dec. 11.
 
Kelly scored a team-high 13 points and snared a career-best 14 rebounds to lead the Seahawks, who featured a balanced scoring attack and led by as many as 10 points in the game. Junior guard Donovan Newby was the only other player in double digits for UNCW with 11 points.
 
Elon senior guard Zac Ervin poured in 20 points, including five three-pointers, to lead all scorers. Graduate guard Sean Halloran chipped in 15 points.
 
"Give Elon a lot of credit, they pushed all the way to the very end," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's third-year head coach. "We had good ball movement the whole game and I thought it was very good in the second half. Overall, it was a great team win for us.
 
"I would love to make a few more shots, but we cleaned it up on offensive glass in the second half. I thought we attacked the zone well without a lot of time to prepare for it."
 
Playing on MLK Day for the 14th time since its inception in 1986, UNCW took a 28-25 lead at intermission and after Elon battled back to take the lead with seven minutes left, used a 14-1 spurt midway through the final period to close the deal.
 
The Seahawks were on top, 33-29, early in the second half when Elon snatched the lead, 36-33, on a dunk and free throw by former UNCW player John Bowen with 14:06 remaining.
 
Elon still led, 39-36, with 13 minutes on the clock when Van Der Heijden buried the second of his two bombs to kickstart the front end of an 8-1 spurt that turned into the decisive 4-1 run.
 
The Phoenix managed to close the gap to four points, 50-46, on treys by Ervin and Torrence Watson, but the Seahawks closed it out with solid free throw shooting the rest of the way. UNCW finished connecting on 20-for-25 at the charity stripe, outscoring the visitors by 12 points at the foul line.
 
The Seahawks came out of the gate and built a 20-11 cushion to grab control early. Kelly capped a 13-1 run with a layup on the left side to give UNCW a nine-point advantage with 6:53 remaining in the first half.
 
Ervin then caught fire for the Phoenix, racking up 13 points behind four straight three-pointers – all over a 2:17 stretch late in the period. His fourth triple cut the deficit to 25-23 at the 4:22 mark and Max Mackinnon's running bank shot along the right side tied it up, 25-all, with 3:51 left in the opening period.
 
Senior guard Maleeck Harden-Hayes answered with a trifecta in the right corner on the other end to give the Seahawks a 28-25 edge at the break.
 
GAME NOTES: The Seahawks had 14 assists on 17 baskets…UNCW is 16-14 all-time vs. Elon…UNCW defeated Elon, 81-66, on Jan. 4 at the Schar Center…The Seahawks have 11 games remaining, five at home and six on the road…The Seahawks are 9-3 against the Phoenix at Trask Coliseum…UNCW is 11-8 vs. Elon in CAA contests…Van Der Heijden finished with nine points on three triples, his largest scoring output since 11 points vs. Mount Olive on Nov. 21…Elon won the rebounding battles, 39-38…The Seahawks led for 26:23 of the contest…Each club had eight treys…All of Donovan Newby's field goal attempts came behind the arc…UNCW leading scorer Trazarien White, who scored a career-high 26 in the first meeting with the Phoenix, finished with seven points and five rebounds…Attendance was 3,241.


 
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