Seahawks Eye CAA Road Sweep Early Saturday

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Fresh off a stirring double overtime triumph at Drexel late Thursday night, the UNCW men's basketball team travels down to Newark, Del., for its Colonial Athletic Association road finale early Saturday in a 4 p.m. tip-off against Delaware's Blue Hens at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Seahawks, 21-7 overall and 11-4 in the CAA, battle the Blue Hens, 13-15 and 5-10, for the first and only time this season. UNCW is facing four of its final five opponents of the regular season in one-gamers.

Saturday's early matchup with the Blue Hens may be heard on 95.9 FM The Breeze, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro on the call, beginning at 3:45 p.m. Video is available on FloSports.com.

The Seahawks (11-4) hold down third place in the circuit. Charleston (14-2) and Hofstra (14-2) sit atop the standings and Towson (10-5) stands fourth. Delaware (5-10) sits in a five-way tie for eighth place as the league's 13 teams jockey for position with the CAA Tournament coming up in early March.

UNCW moves over to Newark after outlasting Drexel, 72-71, in the first double overtime game for the Seahawks since capturing last year's College Basketball Invitational, 96-90, over Middle Tennessee State at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. Sophomore guard Trazarien White collected 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals in an all-around effort against the Dragons at the Daskalakis Center in Philadelphia.

UD, meanwhile, remained the only team in the CAA without a conference road win after falling, 95-72, at Towson on Thursday. The Tigers drained 16-for-22 from deep and shot 62.9 percent in the rout, leading by double digits most the contest. Senior guard Nicholas Timberlake poured in a game-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting to pace the Tigers. Christian Ray and Cavan Reilly had 15 points apiece for the Blue Hens.

Seahawk fans will remember the last time Takayo Siddle's club squared off with the Blue Hens. Fifth-seeded Delaware used a late surge to knock off No. 2 UNCW, 59-55, on March 8, 2022, in the championship game of the CAA Men's Basketball Tournament presented by Jersey Mike's at Washington's Entertainment & Sports Arena. Then-freshman guard Jyare Davis, the league's Rookie of the Year, was named the event's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 18 points and grabbing five rebounds in the championship game. Sophomore forward Andrew Carr, who has since transferred to Wake Forest, had a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Jameer Nelson, Jr., and graduate guard Ryan Allen collected 10 points apiece. Jaylen Sims paved the way for the Seahawks with 18 points.

The Seahawks played well in their last visit to Newark one year ago. UNCW clinched a share of the regular season championship with a 69-62 victory in the regular season finale for both teams on Feb. 26, 2022, at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Seahawks matched the school record for CAA regular season victories with a 15-3 ledger after being picked to finish ninth in the CAA's preseason poll. Shykeim Phillips scored a team-high 16 points for the Seahawks, who shot 28 percent in the first half and bounced back with an impressive 56.5 percent in the pivotal final period. Amari Kelly came off the bench to score 14 points.

The Seahawks have faced Delaware more than any other former America East member since UD, Hofstra, Towson and Drexel joined the league 20 years ago. UNCW holds a 25-19 advantage in the series and owns five CAA Tournament victories (2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2017) over the Blue Hens.

UNCW ranks third in the CAA in defense (.426) this season and the Seahawks will need that early Saturday. UD features two of the league's top-5 scorers in Nelson, Jr., (2nd-19.25 ppg) and Davis (5th-16.42 ppg). The Seahawks do not have a player in the league's top-10 in scoring.

Saturday's game features two of the CAA's best clubs at taking care of the ball. UNCW ranks first in the league in turnover margin (+2.11), while UD ranks fourth (+0;93).

The Seahawks are 8-5 in true road games and 6-2 in CAA road games in 2022-23. The Blue Hens are 9-5 at home overall and 5-3 in conference home contests.

The squad is only the ninth team in UNCW's D-I history to reach 20 wins and the program features back-to-back 20-win seasons for only the third time. The 21 victories represents the seventh highest total in school history.

OPENING TIPS: UNCW leads the all-time series, 25-19…The Blue Hens are 11-7 against the Seahawks in Newark…UNCW stands 6-8 against UD's Martin Inglesby, a former Notre Dame aide…The Seahawks and Blue Hens have only played beyond regulation once in the 44-game series and UNCW won that contest, 74-73, on Jan. 8, 2015, in Wilmington…The Seahawks have won six of their last seven contests…UD has had the best of it in recent meetings between the two teams, winning seven of the last 10 games…The Seahawks rank in the top-3 in seven categories in the CAA's weekly statistics and lead the loop in 3-Point FG Percentage Defense and Turnover Margin…Three Seahawks - White (49), Phillips (43) and Maleeck Harden-Hayes (41) – each played more than 40 minutes in Thursday's wild finish at Drexel.

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Players Mentioned

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

#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

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

#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 Eye CAA Road Sweep Early Saturday

Players Mentioned

#30 Jaylen Sims

#23 Amari Kelly

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#13 Trazarien White

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes

Players Mentioned

#30 Jaylen Sims

#23 Amari Kelly

#2 Shykeim Phillips

#13 Trazarien White

#3 Maleeck Harden-Hayes