Seahawks crush Cougars at CAA, advance to semis

BALTIMORE, MD (CAA) – Second-seeded UNCW knocked off 10th-seeded College of Charleston, 79-53, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Basketball Championship Saturday night at Royal Farms Arena. The Seahawks will take on the winner of tonight’s game between No. 3 Northeastern/No. 6 Delaware in the semifinals on Sunday, March 8 at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.

Head Coach Kevin Keatts, the 2015 CAA Coach of the Year, picked up his first conference tournament victory and will guide UNCW into its first CAA Championship semifinal appearance since 2008.

UNCW (18-12) was paced by 19-point efforts from seniors Freddie Jackson and Cedrick Williams, who were two of four Seahawks in double figures. Williams recorded his fourth double-double of the year, and eighth of his career, finishing the night with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Addison Spruill, a first-team All-CAA selection, added 12 points and eight rebounds. Redshirt-junior guard Craig Ponder poured in 11 points.

The Cougars received a team-best 12 points from sophomore guard Joe Chealey, while freshman Donovan Gilmore tallied six points and 11 rebounds.

UNCW shot 53.4 percent for the game, including a 65.4 percent (17-for-26) clip in the second half, to pull away from the College of Charleston (9-24). On the defensive side of the ball, the Seahawks picked up seven steals and five blocks and limited the Cougars to 32.8% field goal shooting.

In the first half, Chealey got the Cougars off to a quick start, scoring the first two buckets of the game. The Seahawks responded with a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to open up a seven-point advantage with just under 12 minutes left in the half. CofC narrowed the gap to 17-14 on a basket by Glen Pierre, Jr. at the 8:17 mark but UNCW answered with another run, this time scoring nine unanswered points. The Cougars cut the deficit to single digits once more, but a three-pointer by UNCW’s Dylan Sherwood from the corner pushed it to 31-21 with 2:20 left in the frame. The Seahawks took a 36-25 lead into the break.

UNCW carried the momentum into the second half and opened a 49-31 advantage by hitting six of its first nine shots. The Cougars, meanwhile, went cold from the floor, experiencing a 4:49 scoring drought. The spell was ended at 11:45 after a lay-up by Terrance O’Donohue lay-in. The Seahawks took a 25-point lead with 10:16 to go and CofC never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.