UNCW Loses Tough Road Game To Delaware

Photo: (Eric Bartsch) - TJ Carter led the Seahawks with 18 points, but it was not enough Wednesday night as the Blue Hens nipped UNCW at the wire.

NEWARK, DELA. -- Senior forward Herb Courtney’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining capped a nine-point comeback over the final 3:22 to lift host Delaware to a dramatic 68-67 come-from-behind victory over UNC Wilmington in a late-night Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball contest Wednesday at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Blue Hens improved to 10-12 overall and moved into a tie for fourth place with UNCW in the CAA at 7-5. UD snapped a three-game losing streak and won for only the fourth time in the 16-game series between the two clubs.

The Seahawks suffered their second straight loss to fall to 14-10 and 7-5. UNCW dropped to 6-9 on the road and missed a golden opportunity to take two of three games on a difficult three-game swing away from Trask Coliseum.

Sophomore point guard Brian Johnson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to key the late rally and shared scoring honors for UD. Freshman guard Edwin Santiago added 15 points, including 11 in the first period, Courtney scored 13 and Georgetown transfer Marc Egerson had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Senior guard T.J. Carter poured in 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting to anchor three players in double figures for UNCW. Senior forward Todd Hendley collected 17 points and senior guard Daniel Fountain had 13 points and nine rebounds.

A triple by Carter with 3:22 on the clock staked UNCW to a 34-25 advantage, but the Blue Hens wouldn’t go away. While the Seahawks were going 3-for-6 at the free throw line, UD chipped away at the deficit and after Chad Tomko made the first of two free throws to put the Seahawks in front, 67-65, the Blue Hens raced down court, where Johnson found Courtney wide open on the right wing for the game-winner.

Hendley’s inbounds pass then banged off the side of the scoreboard, making a winner out of UD’s first lead since the opening basket of the game.

UNCW took a 34-29 edge into intermission and pushed the margin to 42-33 on Hendley’s jumper along the right baseline before UD’s Monte Ross called a time out with 16:01 left.

The Blue Hens regrouped to close within 45-42 on D.J. Boney’s three ball from the left corner at 12:53 and climbed within 48-46 on a layup by freshman guard Alphonso Dawson with 8:46 remaining.

UNCW stretched the lead again to 59-50 with 5:45 left when Hendley converted both ends of a bonus situation and Carter’s only trey of the night made the score, 64-55, setting up UD’s stunning rally.

Playing before a regional television audience on MASN, the Blue Hens and Seahawks tipped off at 9:06 p.m. UNCW led by as many as 15 points in the first half before committing 12 turnovers in the opening period to squander most of the lead. UD missed its first nine 3-point attempts and shot 36.1 percent, but stayed close behind Santiago’s 11 first-half points.

After UD scored the first bucket of the game on a jumper in the paint by Alphonso Dawson, the Seahawks reeled off 12 unanswered points to take early control. A 3-pointer by freshman forward Dominique Lacy capped the run and gave the Seahawks a 12-2 cushion.

The lead ballooned to 27-12 with 6:25 remaining on a triple by Tomko at 6:25 before the Blue Hens stormed back. UD closed out the final six minutes of the first half with a 14-5 spurt to get back into the contest. Santiago drained a trey from the right wing to slice the deficit to five points, 34-29, with 31 seconds left in the half.

UNCW returns to Trask Coliseum to begin a two-game homestand Saturday with a 7 p.m. start against James Madison. UD entertains CAA frontrunner VCU Saturday in a 2 p.m. tipoff.

Game Notes: The win was UD’s second straight over UNCW…The Blue Hens raised their home record to 6-3…UNCW dipped to 6-8 overall on the road and 3-4 in the CAA…The Seahawks committed 20 turnovers, including 12 in the first half…UD scored 17 points off turnovers…UNCW shot 47.1 percent from the floor, while UD managed 39.4 percent…UNCW built a 44-33 rebounding edge…The Seahawks, the CAA’s leading free throw shooting club, went an abysmal 11-for-21…UNCW fell to 3-4 lifetime in the Bob Carpenter Center.

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT