CAA Men’s Basketball Recap – Feb. 9
Dylan Smith
UNCW 76, Charleston 64
Box Score
UNCW (20-4, 9-2 CAA) eclipsed the 20-win threshold for the fifth-straight season following its largest road victory, 76-64, against Charleston (16-9, 9-3 CAA), also snapping the Cougars’ five-game winning streak. All five of the Seahawks’ starters reached double figures in scoring, led by Greedy Williams and his team-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor with a pair of triples. Patrick Wessler registered his league-best 12
th double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Christian May also logged a 14-point effort with two 3-pointers in the visitors’ win on Monday. Nolan Hodge recorded 12 points with a trio of treys, while Noah Ross rounded out those in double figures with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Seahawks outscored the Cougars in the paint, 38-26, while logging 17 second-chance tallies. UNCW picked up its sixth consecutive victory against Charleston.
The Seahawks came out swinging with makes on eight of their first nine attempts from the floor, including a trio from Ross, to take an 18-7 lead just 5:05 into the game. The Cougars came soaring back to make it a one-possession game, 26-24, at 8:33 as Chris Davis Jr. capped off a 17-8 spree with eight of the final 10 points of the run. The Seahawks worked their advantage back to six after Wessler found the bottom of the bucket on back-to-back possessions to spark UNCW’s surge to take a 34-27 edge with four minutes to play. Williams helped the Seahawks to a double-digit lead at the break, 42-32, after sinking consecutive wide-open treys in the final 37 seconds.
UNCW expanded its advantage to 15 after a layup from Williams and a trifecta by Hodge in the opening 80 seconds. Charleston’s Christian Reeves finished off a six-point spurt with a slam to bring the deficit back down to single digits, 47-38, with 15:57 to play. The Seahawks quickly retaliated with an 8-0 swing as May completed a pair of traditional three-point plays to go up 55-38 with 14:10 to play. Jlynn Counter battled back to make it a 10-point contest, 60-50, with five free throws on a stretch of seven unanswered points with under nine minutes remaining. It was as close as the Cougars as Hodge put the game away with a pair of triples with under six minutes to play before holding on for a 12-point triumph. Counter finished with 20 points, six boards and three helpers. Reeves also added a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double and Davis chipped in 11 points.