UNCW’s turnaround season ends in CAA semis

BALTIMORE, MD (WWAY) — The UNCW men’s basketball team likely won’t be playing in the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks, but history may remember their season as a major turning point in the program’s history.

“The effort was great, but we just came up a little short,” said first-year UNCW head coach Kevin Keatts. “If you looked at the stat sheet, you would think it was a tie game. We made some shots, but Northeastern hurt us on the backboard. They did a very good job of being more aggressive and getting rebounds and that was the difference in the game. They just got to the offensive glass more than we did.”

The new-look Seahawks lost 78-71 to Northeastern in the semifinal round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. It’s unlikely a team other than the eventual conference champion will advance to the NCAA tournament, so UNCW (18-13) will have to hope for a bid to one of the other postseason tournaments, like the NIT, CBI or CIT. It would be UNCW’s first postseason bid since 2006, when the Seahawks lost in the first round of the NCAA under coach Brad Brownell.

Despite Sunday’s loss, the Seahawks had their first winning season since 2007-2008.

Northeastern will play top-seeded William & Mary Monday night for the CAA title.