Seahawks eclipse a century against Allen in first win of 2022
14 of 15 Seahawks scored in the rout
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) – UNCW got its first win of the season Friday at home against D2 Allen 104-55.
The lead only grew throughout the game as the Seahawks forced 19 turnovers for 26 points.
Notable offensive performers were Trazarien White, who scored 17 off 10 field goal attempts and had a game-high +39 while on the court, and Eric Van Der Heijden who was 4-6 from 3-point range. Amari Kelly was a perfect 7-7 from the field with two thunderous dunks. UNCW had 27 assists, which is the most in a single game since Coach Siddle took over 3 years ago.
BELOW IS FROM UNCW:
Sophomore guard Trazarien White’s 17 points anchored four Seahawks in double-figures to help UNCW crush NCAA Division II Allen, 104-55, in the men’s basketball home opener on Friday night at Trask Coliseum.
The Seahawks, who shot 59.7 percent (43-of-72), evened their record at 1-1 on the young season after a season-opening loss at top-ranked North Carolina coupled with Friday’s blowout. It was Allen’s first appearance of 2022-23.
White was one of three starters, along with Amari Kelly (14) and Shykeim Phillips (10), reach double digits. Sophomore forward Eric Van Der Heijden contributed 12 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Senior guard Darius Williams paced Allen, which shot 40.4 percent (19-of-47), with 19 points and was joined by Peyton Weathersby (13) and Cameron Sembly (11) in double figures.
“It was a fun night for our guys,” said third-year Head Coach Takayo Siddle. “We needed a game like that. We made our adjustments tonight. We had 27 assists on 43 made field goals with only seven turnovers. I thought we really grew tonight.”
UNCW collected the most assists (27) in the Siddle era, capped by a dish from freshman guard Nolan Hodge to graduate forward Victor Enoh, who slammed it home with 2:14 to go to push the Seahawks over the century mark for the first time since Dec. 9, 2020, vs. St. Andrews.
Kelly and White combined for 19 points as the Seahawks raced out to a 22-4 lead six minutes into the contest. The duo set the offensive tone early, hitting each of their first four shots.
The teams traded buckets for the next five minutes before Weathersby converted back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to 34-18 with 8:59 remaining in the half.
That would be the closest the Yellow Jackets would come as UNCW tightened its defense and limited Allen to one field goal over the final nine minutes while outscoring the visitors, 25-5, to take a commanding 59-23 advantage into the break.
Hodge capped a seven-point spurt with a dunk at the 12:41 mark of the second half to push the margin to 77-49. Every Seahawk played at least four minutes on Friday night. Reserve guard Makoa Surigao converted a driving layup with 30 seconds on the clock to cement the 104-55 win.
The Seahawks next embark on a 3,600-mile journey to Norman, Okla., and Storrs, Conn., to face Power 5 opponents Oklahoma and UConn. The trip starts on Tuesday night when UNCW takes on the Sooners in an 8 p.m. tip at the Lloyd Noble Center.
GAME NOTES: Kelly matched his career high with 14 markers…Van Der Heijden also collected a career best with 12 points – all in the first 20 minutes…Siddle has not dropped a home opener in three tries…The Seahawks are 45-7 lifetime against non-Division I opponents and have reeled off 14 straight wins over lower division foes…The Seahawks stand 66-47 vs. South Carolina teams…Siddle is a perfect 5-0 against the Palmetto State…The 49-point margining of victory is the second largest gap of the Siddle era…UNCW totaled eight dunks, including four slams by Kelly…The Seahawks scored 58 points off the bench…UNCW held the lead for all but 34 seconds…The Seahawks outrebounded their opponent for the second time in as many games…Allen was limited to 14 points in the paint…UNCW scored over 100 points for the first time in 49 games…The Seahawks scored 22 of the first 26 points in the contest…Five different UNCW players had a dunk…Attendance was 3,517.
