COLLEGE HOOPS ROUNDUP: UNCW men, BCC men & CFCC women all win

WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — Season two in the Kevin Keatts Era is still one of perfection for the UNCW men’s basketball team.

The Seahawks won their fifth consecutive game to open the new season behind junior guard Chris Flemmings to race past NCAA Division II Coker, 93-73, on Wednesday at Trask Coliseum. UNCW has now won its first five games by an average of 20.4 points per game.

“We were prepared to play, but started out a little sloppy,” said Keatts, who improved to 14-2 at home with Wednesday’s decision. “Give Coker a lot of credit. It was a game of two halves. We didn’t do a good job of guarding in the first half. In the second half, we made them turn it over for easy baskets. I was pleased with how we finished the game.”

Flemmings led the Seahawks with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Craig Ponder (12), C.J. Bryce (10), Mark Matthews (10) and Marcus Bryan (10) gave UNCW five players in double figures for the third time this season.

Senior guard Trey Marshall scored 16 points to anchor four players in double figures for Coker. Jalal Abdul-Azeez collected 12 points and Aubrey Daniels contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds and Jalen Watson racked up 10 points and 11 boards.

UNCW carved out a 45-33 lead at the break and extended the margin to as many as 22 points in the final period before registering its fourth double digit victory in five games. With 18 steals, the Seahawks came up just shy of the school record of 19 thefts set against Towson in a 77-65 victory on Jan. 27, 1979.

Ponder, the Seahawks’ leading scorer out of Bluefield, W.Va., did set a new school mark with his nine steals, eclipsing the record of eight steals shared by Bobby Martin, Temi Soyebo and Chad Tomko.

After leading 45-33 at halftime, the Seahawks scored 14 of the first 18 points in the final stanza to gain some breathing room. A 12-2 run, keyed by Bryce, gave the Seahawks a 59-37 bulge at 15:17. Bryce had six points in the spurt and Ponder’s layup with 15:17 remaining hiked the advantage to 22 points.

Coker fought back, however, and narrowed the deficit to nine points before suffering its second loss in three outings. A 13-2 run by the Cobras sliced the lead to 59-44 and a pair of free throws by Abdul-Azeez pulled Coker to within 66-57 with 8:29 showing.

But the Seahawks, behind Ponder and Flemmings, clamped down and kept the Cobras at the bay the rest of the way. An 11-0 run in the final minutes put the game out of reach for the upset-minded Cobras.

The Cobras capitalized on six early turnovers by the Seahawks to grab a quick lead. A string of three straight buckets gave Coker a 6-2 advantage just four minutes into the contest before the Seahawks took the lead for good.

After Marshall connected on the left wing to give the Cobras a 13-11 edge at 12:36, the Seahawks reeled off 10 unanswered points to take control. Bryce kick started the run with a short jumper and Trey Grundy’s layup at 10:38 gave the Seahawks a 21-13 margin.

The Seahawks took a 45-33 lead into intermission after scoring 15 points off 14 turnovers by the Cobras. UNCW had five steals and nine blocks in the opening 20 minutes against the smaller Coker squad.

UNCW now breaks for exams before returning to the floor in a 2:30 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 12, against national power Georgetown at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

GAME NOTES: The Seahawks improved to 39-7 against non-Division I opponents after winning their eighth straight against those foes…UNCW moved to 4-0 at home this season and has won 10 in a row at Trask Coliseum spanning back to last year…The Seahawks are 2-0 lifetime against the Cobras…UNCW now stands 53-30 against South Carolina opponents through the years…Coker had just five assists in the contest…The Seahawks shot 45.8 percent from the field and 71.9 percent at the free throw line…Coker outrebounded UNCW, 49-47…Twelve different players scored for the Seahawks…Freshman Devontae Cacok paced UNCW with eight rebounds.

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RICHMOND, VA (UNCW) – Senior guard Adaeze Alaeze scored 13 of her season-high 22 points in the second half as VCU broke away after the intermission to defeat UNCW by a 58-45 margin in a non-conference contest at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Wednesday evening.

The win allowed the Rams to improve to 5-1 on the season, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. UNCW, which was playing its second road game of the year, dropped to 2-3 after suffering its second straight loss.

Alaeze made 9 of 11 shots from the floor, including one of two three-point field goals, while connecting on three of four free throws as the Rams outscored UNCW by a 35-24 margin in the second half.

Junior forward Camille Calhoun added 12 points, including eight in the second half, for the Rams.

Senior guard Shatia Cole posted her third consecutive double-digit scoring effort for the Seahawks with a team-high 14 points while junior forward Jordan Henry contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Jasmine Steele added eight points with five rebounds and four assists.

How It Happened: After battling to a 23-21 score at the intermission, VCU outscored the Seahawks by an 18-10 margin in the third quarter while holding UNCW without a field goal for the first 6:22 of the period. Alaeze and Calhoun combined to score 15 of the Rams’ 18 points in the stanza as VCU never trailed by fewer than eight points in the second half.

#SeahawkStats: VCU earned its second straight win over the Seahawks and leads the all-time series by a 25-17 margin … Each team committed 19 turnovers … After being held to just nine points in the first two games, Cole is averaging 14.7 points per outing in the last three contests … Henry did not reach double figures in scoring for the first time this season … VCU outrebounded UNCW by a 42-29 margin … The Seahawks tied a season high by making five three-point field goals.

What’s Ahead for the Seahawks:

Sunday, Dec. 13 at Norfolk State • 6 p.m. • Echols Hall, Norfolk, Va.

Tuesday, Dec. 15 vs. Stetson • 11:30 a.m. • Trask Coliseum, Wilmington, N.C.

Friday, Dec. 18 vs. Ohio • 2 p.m. • Trask Coliseum, Wilmington, N.C.