Season opener at Trask Coliseum tonight for Kevin Keatts & UNCW Seahawks
WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — The second season of the Kevin Keatts Era and 65th year of UNCW men’s basketball tips off Friday when NAIA member Milligan College visits Trask Coliseum for a 7 p.m. date with the Seahawks.
UNCW is opening the season at home for the first time since 2012 and Keatts, the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Coach-of-the-Year, couldn’t be more pleased.
“It’s important to get off to a good start,” said Keatts. “You take one game at a time – we’re only concentrating on Milligan. We’ll worry about the other opponents as they come along. This is a very important game for us because it’s our season opener at home.”
The Seahawks, who crushed NCAA Division II Barton, 81-51, in an exhibition tune-up last Sunday, return two starters – redshirt senior guard Craig Ponder and sophomore playmaker Jordon Talley – and seven lettermen from last year’s 18-14 team that earned a share of the CAA regular season championship.
Ponder, a crafty 6-1, 185-pounder out of Bluefield, W.Va., collected Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA honors three weeks ago and will anchor a team chock full of youth and talent.
Keatts said: “We certainly hope to put 9, 10 or 11 guys into the game. Our style of play dictates how many guys play and we reward guys who play hard on the defensive end. I’m hoping to have a 9, 10, 11-man rotation.”
The Buffaloes from the mountains of Northeast Tennessee are already 3-0 after defeating Alice Lloyd (90-86, OT), Emory & Henry (83-69) and Johnson (104-98). Coach Bill Robinson’s club is averaging a robust 92.3 points per game behind 9.3 three-pointers each contest.
Kurt Brooks (6-4, 217, Sr., Guard) leads the high-octane offense with 21.3 ppg and Julian Bailey (6-6, 205, Sr., Forward) and Alex Biggerstaff (6-5, 191, Jr., Guard) are contributing 16.3 ppg and 14.7 ppg. Milligan closed out the half with a 12-2 run on Tuesday to blow past Johnson’s Royals in Knoxville.
“We’re excited about playing a very good team in the season opener,” added Keatts. “They went to their national tournament last year and they’ll be a tough opponent for us. They have great tradition and very good coaching. They’re a lot like us because they lost some good guys, but it will be a very challenging game because they play with a great deal of pride, share the basketball and know how to score the basketball.”
The matchup kicks off a three-game home stand to open the new season for the Seahawks, who stand 20-19 in season debuts since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1976-77. It’s only the fifth time in the last 20 seasons the Seahawks have opened the season on their home floor.
The Seahawks are also playing their first Tennessee opponent in 10 years and own a 10-9 record against teams from the Volunteer State. UNCW’s last Tennessee foe was UT on Nov. 14, 2006, during an appearance in the Preseason NIT Tip-off Tournament in Nashville.
Following Friday’s opener, the Seahawks entertain Ohio Valley Conference member Eastern Kentucky on Monday (Nov. 16) and Mid-American Conference representative Western Michigan on Saturday (Nov. 21). Both games are 7 p.m. starts at Trask Coliseum.
All of UNCW’s home games are carried live on the Seahawk Digital Network. Fans can visit UNCWsports.com, click the Live Events button, and select the game for a free audio and video feed of the contest.
Season tickets are still available by visiting the UNCW Athletics Ticket Office in Trask Coliseum, calling 1-800-808-UNCW or clicking on the Tickets button via UNCWSports.com. Tickets start as low as $99, with 5 and 8-game mini-plans also available.
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