UNCW Leaving Two Seahawks Behind

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Junior guard Montez Downey will not travel with the UNC Wilmington men's basketball team on its upcoming four-game road swing and freshman forward Brad Bald is listed as questionable for the games, Head Coach Benny Moss announced Thursday.

Downey, who has started all three games this season, will have surgery Friday afternoon to relieve a nagging stress fracture in his left foot. Team physicians plan to insert a screw in the fracture on the fifth metatarsal of his foot, and Downey is expected to be lost for 2-4 weeks.

The 6-5, 225-pound Downey has averaged 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in UNCW's first three games. The Oxford, N.C., product scored three points with four rebounds in UNCW's loss Wednesday night at No. 20 Wake Forest.

Bald, meanwhile, recently returned to the squad following a lung infection, but has not responded and may or may not play while new medication takes effect. The 6-8, 215-pound newcomer from Severna Park, Md., has played a total of 13 minutes in three games.

The Seahawks open the trip Sunday with a 4:30 p.m. tipoff at Kent State before moving over to Texas A&M to play the Aggies on Tuesday. UNCW wraps up the long journey by playing two games on South Padre Island along the Gulf Coast of Texas Friday and Saturday. -Courtesy UNCW (Photo: Eric Bartsch)

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT