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UNCW Men's Basketball take on Drexel in the 2023 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game at Entertainment Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. on March 5, 2023. PHOTO BY: MICHAEL SPENCER/UNCW

Men's Basketball Joe Browning

Seahawks Dispatch Dragons To Reach CAA Semis

Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – No. 4 seeded UNCW used a 16-0 run over a four-minute span in the second half to rally past No. 5 Drexel, 73-68, early Sunday and advance to the semifinals of the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship for the 24th time.
 
The Seahawks, 23-9, will take on top-seeded Hofstra, 24-8, in Monday's semifinals at the Entertainment & Sports Arena at 6 p.m. The Pride routed UNCW, 70-46, in the only meeting of the regular season between the two teams on Jan. 19, 2023, in Hempstead, N.Y.
 
Junior guard Nick Farrar of UNCW came off the bench to lead all scorers in the contest with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from deep. Coincidentally, the Apex, N.C., product matched his previous season high of 19 points scored against the Dragons in UNCW's overtime win in Philadelphia in mid-January.
 
Sophomore guard Trazarien White added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, sophomore guard Jamarii Thomas chipped in 11 points and junior guard Donovan Newby finished with 10 for the Seahawks, who shot 54.9 percent on the day.
 
CAA All-Rookie Team selection Justin Moore paced the Dragons with 16 points. CAA Defensive Player of the Year Amari Williams and Luke House added 13 points apiece for the Dragons. Drexel shot 60.9 percent in the first half and cooled off to 37.0 percent in the second half.
 
The Seahawks trailed by 12 points with just over 15 minutes remaining, but stormed back to defeat the Dragons for the fourth straight time. Drexel entered the game as the CAA's leader in scoring defense, allowing just 62.0 ppg.
 
"That was a great team win for us," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's third-year head coach, who stands 3-2 in CAA Tournament outings. "We started off the game with a lot of pop. We were tough and competitive. Later on in the first half, we stopped guarding. We talked at halftime about locking down and getting some stops. Drexel fought hard and made it very difficult for us."
 
After grabbing a 38-34 advantage at halftime, Drexel continued to apply pressure and still led by 12 points with 12 minutes left to play when the Seahawks exploded.
 
Drexel guard Coltrane Washington's three-pointer on the left wing gave the Dragons their largest lead of the contest, 57-45, with 12:35 on the clock. However, Zach Spiker's club did not score another field goal until Luke House's layup at the seven-minute mark.
 
The Seahawks, meanwhile, made six of eight shots in the first part of the 16-0 spurt and righted the ship as five players scored in the decisive 16-0 run. Thomas got things started with a layup and the Greensboro guard's three-pointer at the 9:36 mark regained the lead for UNCW, 58-57. Newby then sank a trey in the right corner to cap the rally and extend the margin to 61-57.
 
Drexel did rally to tie the score at 64-all on a pair of back-to-back layups, but the Seahawks went on another mini-run of 7-0 to gain the final separation needed. There were some tense moments at the end. Drexel trailed, 71-68, with five seconds left, but Moore's three-point attempt skimmed off the front of the rim, giving the Seahawks their third tournament victory in five meetings against the Dragons.
 
Both teams came out blazing in the first half before Drexel outscored UNCW, 14-7, over the final six minutes to carve out a 38-34 advantage at the break. The clubs shot an identical 60.9 percent on 14-for-23 in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Seahawks drained six of their first eight field goal attempts and pulled out to a 13-5 advantage after White's jumper on the left elbow with 14:31 left in the first half.
 
UNCW maintained the lead until the Dragons came alive late in the period. Trailing 27-24 following a bucket inside by Farrar, Drexel used a 9-0 run over a 2:51 stretch to gain control.
 
The Dragons notched their first lead of the contest, 29-27, when Lamar Oden, Jr., converted both ends of a bonus situation with 5:10 left in the half.
 
The Drexel lead swelled to 35-29 on a hook shot in the paint by Oden before the Seahawks closed the gap to four points, 38-34, at intermission. It was the fifth straight bucket for the Dragons in the spurt.
 
GAME NOTES: UNCW leads the all-time series with Drexel, 25-15…UNCW owns a 3-2 lead over Drexel in the CAA Tournament…The Seahawks are 44-31 in 38 appearances in the postseason event… With 44 victories, UNCW has more wins than any other team in the CAA Tournament…Drexel posted a narrow 29-27 edge on the boards…UNCW scored 28 points in the paint….The Seahawk bench scored 30 of the team's 73 points…Both teams went 6-for-17 from long distance…There were no blocked shots in the game…Siddle stands 11-4 in neutral site games over three seasons…The Seahawks are now 23-7 in the CAA quarterfinals…UNCW is 3-2 in CAA Tournament games at the Entertainment & Sports Arena…UNCW is 8-4 as the No. 4 seed.

 
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Players Mentioned

Jamarii Thomas

#0 Jamarii Thomas

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Trazarien White

#13 Trazarien White

F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Nick Farrar

#30 Nick Farrar

G
6' 7"
Junior
Donovan Newby

#55 Donovan Newby

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jamarii Thomas

#0 Jamarii Thomas

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
Trazarien White

#13 Trazarien White

6' 6"
Sophomore
F
Nick Farrar

#30 Nick Farrar

6' 7"
Junior
G
Donovan Newby

#55 Donovan Newby

6' 1"
Junior
G