UNCW Uses Balanced Scoring Effort To Top Elon, 93-86
Rob Washburn
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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (March 9, 2019) – Junior forward Jeantal Cylla led six UNCW players in double figures with 23 points and senior forward Devontae Cacok recorded his nation’s-best 23
rd double-double with 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds to lead the 10
th-seeded Seahawks over No. 7 Elon, 93-86, in the second first-round game of the 2019 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by Jersey Mike’s Subs.
UNCW (10-22) advances to play No. 2 Northeastern at 6 p.m. on Sunday in the quarterfinals. Elon dropped to 11-21 with the loss.
The Seahawks, who shot 53.2% from the floor, also got double-digit scoring performances from Ty Gadsden (16 points), Jaylen Sims (13 points), Kai Toews (10 points) and Jay Estime’ (10 points). Elon was paced by senior Steven Santa Ana with a game-high 26 points, while Sheldon Eberhardt contributed 16 points off the bench and Tyler Seibring added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Elon led 19-18 with 12:04 to play before the Seahawks went on an 18-6 run and took a 36-25 lead on a Cylla three-pointer with 6:29 to go in the half. UNCW, which shot 58.6% in the first 20 minutes, took a 46-38 advantage into halftime.
The Seahawks were up 61-49 with just under 14 minutes to play when Elon went on a 10-2 surge and closed within 63-59 with 10:12 left on a Federico Poser jumper. The Phoenix trailed by just six with 7:44 remaining reeled off nine unanswered points capped by a Sims three-pointers that extended UNCW’s advantage to 81-66 with 4:37 to go.
Elon wouldn’t get any closer than five the rest of the way as UNCW sealed the victory by making 7-of-8 free throws over the final 36 seconds.