CAA basketball wrap from Friday in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WWAY) — UNCW finally has an opponent. The UNCW men’s basketball team will face College of Charleston. The Cougars won their first round game in Baltimore 67-63 over Delaware. We have details below.

Live coverage of Saturday’s Noon and 6 p.m. tournament games in Wilmington area on Cape Fear CW.
       Digital Receiver – Channel 3.2
       Time Warner Digital Cable – Channel 1212
       ATMC Digital Cable – Channel 4
       Charter Cable – Channel 17
DirectTV – Channel 4

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BALTIMORE (CAA) — Junior guard Payton Hulsey scored a team-high 18 points, and sophomore guard Cameron Johnson blocked a potential game-tying field goal in the final seconds as College of Charleston defeated Delaware 67-63 Friday in the second opening-round game of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship at Royal Farms Arena.

Seventh-seeded College of Charleston raised its record to 17-13 and advances to a 6 p.m. Saturday tournament quarterfinal meeting with second-seeded UNCW.  Tenth-seeded Delaware fell to 7-23.

Hulsey hit on seven of 10 shots from the field and had nine rebounds, five assists and a tournament-game-record tying seven steals in 29 minutes.  He scored six of his team’s final 11 points.

Johnson’s block of Delaware sophomore guard Kory Holden’s shot with three seconds remaining was the game’s key defensive play.  The Blue Hens trailed only 65-63 when Holden was denied on a driving attempt from the left side.  College of Charleston freshman forward Jerrell Brantley rebounded the blocked attempt and hit two free throws with one second to play to seal the Cougar victory.  Brantley’s successful free throw attempts came after teammates had converted on only one of six chances from the foul line during the final 2:28.

Holden had gotten Delaware to within 64-63 on driving layup with 21 seconds left, and College of Charleston sophomore forward Evan Bailey raised his team’s lead to 65-63 by hitting the second of two free throws with 13.6 seconds to play.

Holdan kept Delaware close with a game-high 30 points.  He hit on 10 of 25 shots, including five of 12 attempts from three-point range.  The second-team All-CAA honoree also had seven rebounds in 37 minutes.

Brantley and Bailey joined Hulsey in double figures in scoring for College of Charleston with 13 points each.  Brantley also had 10 rebounds, three assists and a three-point field goal, and Bailey had two three-pointers.

Sophomore forward Skye Johnson added 15 points on seven-of-eight shooting and five rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench for Delaware.

College of Charleston outscored Delaware 13-4 to close the first half and led 35-28 at the break and 39-28 early during the final period, but Delaware pulled into a 43-43 tie on Holden basket with 13:07 left.  Holden’s three-pointer with 11:02 remaining gave his team a 49-46 lead, but Bailey put the Cougars in front to stay 56-54 with a three-pointer with 7:51 left.  The College of Charleston lead reached 60-54 on two Brantley free throws at the 5:39 mark, but two Hulsey field goals were the Cougars’ only points the rest of the way until Bailey’s made free throw at 13.6-second mark.

Hulsey tied the tournament game record of seven steals set by Richmond’s Gerald Jarmon in a 1994 game against East Carolina at the Richmond Coliseum.  College of Charleston was credited with 14 steals.

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BALTIMORE (AP) – Terrell Allen made a pull-up jumper with 25 seconds left to give Drexel a 57-56 victory over Elon on Friday night in a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament opener.

Tavon Allen hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points to lead the ninth-seeded Dragons (6-24), who move on to face top-seeded Hofstra on Saturday. Terrell Allen finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting,

Luke Eddy had 11 points for No. 8 Elon (16-16).

Eddy split a pair of free throws to give the Phoenix their last lead, 56-55, with 56 seconds remaining. Terrell Allen made his jump shot from the foul line, and then Eddy missed a jumper and Sammy Mojica grabbed the rebound with eight seconds to play to seal it.

The Dragons have won three of four since snapping an 11-game skid.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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BALTIMORE (UNCW) — The UNCW men’s basketball team shoots for its fifth Colonial Athletic Association title and its first since 2005-06 when the No. 2-seeded Seahawks battle No. 7 College of Charleston in one of four quarterfinal matchups on Saturday at Royal Farms Arena.

The 22-7 Seahawks, who tied for their second consecutive regular season title with a 14-4 record, are seeking their eighth postseason appearance this weekend. Coach Kevin Keatts’ club is coming off a 74-68 victory over Towson last Saturday in the regular season finale for both clubs at Trask Coliseum.

UNCW and Charleston will tip-off at 6 p.m. – facing each other for the second straight year in the
CAA Tournament – with the victor facing Northeastern-Towson winner in the semifinals on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars held off upset-minded No. 10 Delaware, 67-63, in an opening-round game late Friday.

The Seahawks and Cougars met just 14 days ago at TD Arena and UNCW outlasted Earl Grant’s club, 59-55, in overtime. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Seahawks over their southern rivals.

UNCW is making its 31st appearance in the CAA’s post-season gala and has reached the championship game nine times. UNCW is the No. 2 seed for the seventh time. The Seahawks have been the No. 2 seed in 1987, 1985, 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2015, fashioning an 8-5 record.

Overall, the Seahawks have compiled a 33-26 (.569) tournament ledger, capturing championships in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

The Seahawks enjoyed a successful 2015-16 regular season, racking up the most conference wins for the program in 11 years since the 2005-06 club went 15-3. It also marked the 11th time the Seahawks have recorded double digit wins in the league.

Seven Seahawks are making their first appearance in the CAA Tournament and two others – seniors Craig Ponder and Dylan Sherwood – are playing in their fourth event. Newcomers to the party include C.J. Bryce, Marcus Bryan, Devontae Cacok, Chris Flemmings, Trey Grundy, Denzel Ingram and Mark Matthews.

After gaining a share of the regular season title in Keatts’ inaugural season, the Seahawks split a pair of games in the 2015 CAA Tournament. UNCW cruised past Charleston, 79-53, in a quarterfinal game on March 7, 2015, before falling, 78-71, to eventual champion Northeastern on March 8, 2015.

The Seahawks jumped out to a 36-25 lead at halftime and blew past the Cougars, 79-63, in the quarterfinals behind 19 points from seniors Cedrick Williams and Freddie Jackson. Northeastern then eliminated the Seahawks in the semifinals, 78-73, as senior center Scott Eatherton anchored four players in double figures with 21 points.

In its last regular season game before coming to Baltimore, UNCW sent its seniors out on a high note with a 74-68 victory over Towson last Saturday at Trask Coliseum. The Seahawks finished 12-2 at home behind 14 points apiece from Dylan Sherwood and Marcus Bryan. Chris Flemmings and Denzel Ingram also chipped in 11 apiece.

The Seahawks have been steady down the stretch under Kevin Keatts. UNCW has won two of its last three games and 13 out of its last 15 contests.

The Seahawks have held their last three opponents – Charleston, Hofstra and Towson – to 36.9 percent shooting on 65-of-176. The trio has also made just 14-of-47 for 29.8 percent behind the arc.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE SEAHAWKS IN CAA TOURNAMENT

Radio
-Audio of all UNCW games on WLSG 1340 AM (Wilmington)
-Audio of all UNCW games on The Beach 94.1 FM (Wilmington)
-Audio of all UNCW games on WSME 1120 AM (Jacksonville/Onslow County)
-Audio of all UNCW games on Freedom 97.1 FM (Jacksonville/Onslow County)

Internet
-Audio and video of all UNCW games on Seahawk Digital Network via UNCWsports.com
-Audio and video of all tournament games on CAA.tv via CAAsports.com

Television
-Live coverage of Saturday’s Noon and 6 p.m. tournament games in Wilmington area on The CW Network
       Digital Receiver – Channel 3.2
       Time Warner Digital Cable – Channel 1212
       ATMC Digital Cable – Channel 4
       Charter Cable – Channel 17
DirectTV – Channel 4