UNCW Holds Off Northeastern In Semifinals
Rob Washburn
BALTIMORE (March 6, 2016) – Redshirt junior guard Chris Flemmings scored a team-high 21 points and deflected a Northeastern pass attempt to set up a final shot as the Seahawks held on for a 73-70 victory over the Huskies Sunday in the second semifinal game of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship at Royal Farms Arena.
The second-seeded Seahawks raised their record to 24-7 and advance to Monday’s 7 p.m. tournament championship game against top-seeded Hofstra, a 70-67 winner over fifth-seeded William & Mary in Sunday’s opening semifinal game. Northeastern fell to 18-15.
Flemmings hit on six of nine shots, including four of five attempts from three-point range, and had five rebounds in 39 minutes. The first-team All-CAA performer had two three-pointers during a 16-2 scoring run that gave UNCW a 55-42 lead, and his free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining provided the game’s final points. Northeastern, which erased most of a 10-point deficit during the final 1:05, then threw a length-of the court pass in an attempt to set up a final shot. The ball hit in bounds after Flemmings’ leaping deflection and landed out of bounds after time expired.
UNCW led 64-52 with 3:58 to play and 69-59 on two Flemmings’ free throws with 1:14 left. But Northeastern got four points from senior guard David Walker around a missed UNCW free throw, a field goal after a Seahawk five-second in-bounds violation and four points from redshirt senior forward/guard Quincy Ford to pull to within 70-69 with 14.5 seconds remaining.
UNCW redshirt senior guard Craig Ponder hit on two free throws with 10.5 seconds left for a 72-69 Seahawk lead; and with 3.3 seconds remaining, Ford hit on the first of two free throws but was called for a lane violation while intentionally missing a second try. Flemmings then hit on the second of two free throws for UNCW’s final margin and kept Northeastern from attempting a final shot.
Redshirt junior guard Denzel Ingram tallied 14 points and Ponder added 11 points for UNCW. Ingram also had a game-high eight assists.
Ford scored 10 points during the final 3:37 and led Northeastern with 21 points. Walker and junior guard T.J. Williams added 16 points and senior guard Zach Stahl contributed 11 points and game-high 13 rebounds for the Huskies.
Redshirt sophomore forward Marcus Bryan’s layup gave UNCW a 41-40 lead with 16:16 to play and started the surge that gave the Seahawks their 55-42 advantage with 10:24 remaining.
Neither team led by more than four points during a first half that featured nine lead changes and six ties. The teams combined to commit only five turnovers. Williams led all first-half scorers with 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench, and Flemmings paced UNCW during the opening half with eight points, including two three-point field goals.
Williams hit on two free throws at the 6:08 mark of the half to give Northeastern a 22-18 lead, but UNCW closed the half with a 16-10 scoring run to lead 34-32 at the break. Reserve freshman forward Devontae Cacok converted two offensive rebounds into field goals and added a layup at the 59-second mark for the period’s final points to lead the late UNCW surge. Cacok’s effort contributed to a 12-1 Seahawk advantage in second-chance points during the opening half.
UNCW will be making its 10th CAA title game appearance and first since 2006. The Seahawks, CAA members since 1985-86, have won four CAA crowns (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006). UNCW and Hofstra met in the 2006 CAA championship game.
UNCW and Hofstra, which tied for CAA regular-season title (Hofstra won the league tiebreaker for the top tournament seed), split regular-season meetings with each rallying from a large deficit to win on the other’s court. UNCW won 70-67 at Hofstra Feb. 4 after trailing by 20 points late during the opening half. Hofstra overcame an 18-point late first-period deficit to win 70-69 Feb. 25 at UNCW.