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Game 12 - UNCW vs Charleston
Rafael Suanes/CAA
58
UNCW UNCW 24-10,12-6 CAA
63
Winner Col. of Charleston CC 31-3,16-2 CAA
UNCW UNCW
24-10,12-6 CAA
58
Final
63
Col. of Charleston CC
31-3,16-2 CAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNCW UNCW 27 31 58
Col. of Charleston CC 24 39 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Cougars Hold Off Seahawks In CAA Title Game

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Second-seeded Charleston used a 12-0 run over a three-minute stretch late in the second half to slip past No. 4 UNCW, 63-58, in the championship game of the Jersey Mike's Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
 
The Cougars improved to 31-3 with the win and secured the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Seahawks finished the year with a 24-10 record after advancing to the championship game for a conference record 13th time.
 
Charleston, reaching the finals of the tournament for the first time since 2018, owns more wins than any other team in the NCAA Division I ranks and notched its 10th consecutive victory in the tournament finale.
 
UNCW's Trazarien White and Donovan Newby were named to the All-Tournament Team. The pair was joined by Tournament MVP Ryan Larson (Charleston), Ante Brzovic (Charleston), Aaron Estrada (Hofstra) and Nicholas Timberlake (Towson).
 
The lightning-quick Larson came up big for the Cougars in Tuesday's championship game, scoring a career-high 23 points and snatching four steals. Brzovic was the only other Charleston player in double figures with 16 points.
 
White and senior forward Amari Kelly shared scoring honors with 16 points each for the Seahawks, who were outscored, 39-31, in the second half. Kelly added a game-high nine rebounds in the loss.
 
"They're 31-3 for a good reason," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's third-year head coach. "They're a good basketball team. Hat's off to Charleston. They were a better team down the stretch.
 
"I thought we fought and were a tougher team. We executed our game plan and just came up short at the end. The fight and the toughness of our guys can't be questioned.
 
"I'm very proud of this group. Nobody expected us to do anything. These guys bonded together over the course of the season and we did some amazing things."
 
Charleston, which trailed 27-24 at halftime, rallied to take the lead, 42-34, midway through the final period before falling behind again by eight points with six minutes on the clock. Kelly dropped in a free throw with 6:13 remaining to give the Seahawks a 53-45 advantage.
 
Larson got the Cougars back on track by hitting both ends of a bonus situation and Jaylen Scott's layup with 2:47 left regained the lead for Charleston, 57-53.
 
After a three-pointer by Newby narrowed the deficit to one point, 57-56, the Cougars capitalized on a pair of turnovers with back-to-back buckets by Brzovic to forge out to a 61-56 lead with less than a minute left.
 
White converted a conventional three-point play with 18 seconds remaining, but Charleston sophomore guard Reyne Smith sank both ends of a one-and-one opportunity to nail down the win.
 
The lanky Brzovic scored eight of Charleston's first 11 points of the second half as the Cougars took a 35-29 lead after four minutes in the final period. UNCW then rattled off a 15-0 run over 4:03 to jump ahead by four points before the Cougars stormed back down the stretch.
 
The two teams played a tight first 20 minutes and no more than five points separated the two clubs, who went a combined 3-for-19 from long distance in the first period.
 
The Seahawks, playing their trademark aggressive defense, grabbed control early and led 15-11 following a pair of free throws by Shykeim Phillips with 8:57 left in the period.
 
The Cougars responded and took the lead, 22-21, on a conventional three-point play by Pat Robinson, III, at 4:28.
 
UNCW then reeled off six unanswered points to build a five-point cushion in the final four minutes. Jamarri Thomas scored on a driving layup, Newby sank a teardrop in the paint and Maleeck Harden-Hayes capped the spurt with a short jumper with 47 seconds left for a 27-22 advantage.
 
Larson got the roll on a layup with 26 seconds left to pull the Cougars within 27-24 at intermission.
 
The Seahawks made back-to-back appearances in the finals and have played in more championship games (13) than any other team in CAA history.
 
GAME NOTES: The Seahawks outrebounded the Cougars, 35-31…Charleston had 10 steals on the night…UNCW scored 36 points in the paint…The series now stands even at 18 wins apiece…Charleston swept all three matchups with the Seahawks in 2022-23…Charleston beat UNCW for the first time in five tries in the CAA Tournament…The Cougars avenged a 60-57 loss to the Seahawks in last year's semifinals…The Seahawks are 9-4 as the No. 4 seed in the CAA's postseason affair…Phillips has 967 points in 99 career appearances with 84 starts…Reserve guard Nick Farrar averaged 10.0 ppg in the three tournament games…There were seven lead changes and nine ties…Attendance was 2,072.

 
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