Seahawks Open February With Aggies

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Third-year UNCW men's basketball coach Takayo Siddle warned that visiting North Carolina A&T is a "dangerous" opponent ahead of Thursday's Colonial Athletic Association rematch with the Aggies in the Port city.

The Seahawks downed the Aggies, 66-61, in the first meeting of the two teams on Jan. 7 in Greensboro. The two teams square off again at 7 p.m. on Black Excellence Night at Trask Coliseum.

The UNCW-A&T matchup may be heard on 95.9 FM The Breeze, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer on the call, beginning at 6:45 p.m. Video is available on FloSports.com.

UNCW carries a 17-6 overall record and 7-3 conference ledger into the month of February. The Seahawks have won two in a row and three of their last four outings since stinging back-to-back home losses to Charleston and William & Mary in mid-January.

The Cougars are perched atop the CAA standings with a 9-1 league record. UNCW sits in fourth place in the 13-team league behind Charleston, Hofstra (8-2) and Towson (8-2). North Carolina A&T (6-5) resides in sixth place.

UNCW is seeking its 400th victory in Trask Coliseum since the 5,200-seat arena opened on Nov. 26, 1977, in an 83-79 loss to Wake Forest. The Seahawks have won 68.3 percent (399-185) of their games at the venue.

Thursday marks only the second meeting between the Seahawks and Aggies as CAA foes and the first as league rivals at Trask Coliseum.

"They have really good guard play," said Siddle. "They have some talented basketball players. They're dynamic in their guard play and they push the basketball in transition. They do some things that really concern me. We're going to have to be ready to roll. We have to make sure we impose our will on them from a defensive standpoint. It's definitely a game where we have to be locked in."

The contest is a rematch of the game played last month at the Corbett Sports Center. The Seahawks set a school record with their 13th consecutive victory in a close game. Senior guard Maleeck Harden-Hayes pumped in a career-high 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting to anchor three Seahawks in double figures. Senior guard Shykeim Phillips contributed 14 points and senior forward Amari Kelly pitched in 10 for the Seahawks, who shot 50 percent in the second half and dropped in 19-for-21 at the free throw line.

Sophomore guard Kam Woods scored 24 points to pace the Aggies, including 16 in a hot first half. UNCW led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half before N.C. A&T climbed within one point at the two-minute mark.

Siddle added, "Anybody can beat anybody," said Siddle. "The second time around, we understand we have to be ready to go. We can't afford to come out flat and not take any opponent serious."

The Seahawks are seeking their third conference sweep of the season after taking both games against Elon and Monmouth. Due to schedule adjustments, UNCW has yet to play CAA rivals Northeastern, Drexel, Delaware and Towson.

A&T enters Thursday's game after a 79-64 setback to Monmouth at home last Saturday. The Aggies shot just 37 percent as the Hawks snapped a 12-game losing streak to win for the first time in CAA play. Monmouth shot 53 percent from the floor 6-for-11 (.545) from 3-point range in scoring a season-high 79 points.

Still, the Aggies have won five of their last seven games and stand 4-6 in road games this season. A&T is 3-1 in CAA roadies, defeating Hofstra, Elon, Hampton and William & Mary on their home courts.

Woods, N.C. A&T's top scorer at 18.3 ppg, has attempted 358 field goals for an average of 15.6 per game. He's attempted 129 more shots than UNCW's Trazarien White, who has shot 229 times in 2022-23. Woods is coming off an off game last Saturday when he went 1-for-13, including 1-for-10 from long distance, in A&T's loss to Monmouth in Greensboro.

Thursday marks the 22nd game in the series. N.C. A&T leads the series by an 11-10 margin and has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two clubs. The Seahawks own a 5-4 record against the Aggies at Trask Coliseum, where they last played on Dec. 15, 1990.

The Seahawks are playing the last of nine games against seven North Carolina opponents. UNCW is 7-1 against state opponents this season, losing only to then-No. 1 ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill in the season opener on Nov. 7, 2022.

OPENING TIPS: Siddle is 8-2 this season at home, 23-7 overall over the last three years and 12-7 in home conference games since arriving in 2020-21…The Seahawks have averaged 3,905 fans in their 10 home games, with sellouts vs. East Carolina (12-06-22) and Charleston (01-11-23)…The Seahawks have shot 48.7 percent (263-for-540) in 10 home games and limited opponents to 38.1 percent (212-for-556)…UNCW has averaged 77.0 ppg at home and only 61.6 ppg in true road games…The Seahawks have attempted 19 more free throws than the closest team in the conference…Harden-Hayes has made 36 of his last 37 free throws…UNCW is averaging 20.9 three-point field goal attempts per game, making 6.2 each contest…The Seahawks are playing at 7 p.m. for the ninth time this season…White has led the club in scoring in 12 of 23 games…UNCW's senior class has contributed 594 of the team's 1,577 points (37.6 pct.)…White is drawing 5.7 fouls per game…Siddle has fashioned a 6-4 record in February, including 3-2 at home and 3-2 on the road.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Amari Kelly: F; 6' 9"; Senior

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

#13 Trazarien White: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes: G; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Amari Kelly
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

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

#13 Trazarien White
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes
: 6' 7"; Senior
: G

UNC Wilmington Athletics

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Events/Results

Seahawks Open February With Aggies

Players Mentioned

#23 Amari Kelly

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#13 Trazarien White

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes

Players Mentioned

#23 Amari Kelly

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#13 Trazarien White

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes