UNCW advances to second straight CAA title game

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (CAASPORTS) – Redshirt seniors Denzel Ingram and Chris Flemmings paced an outstanding offensive effort with 27 and 26 points, respectively, to help top-seeded UNCW advance to the finals of 2017 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the second straight year with a 105-94 win over fourth-seeded William & Mary.

UNCW upped its own program record for wins, moving to 28-5 overall. Ingram nailed six three-pointers to go along with eight assists in the win, while Flemmings had five rebounds and went a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line. Sophomores C.J. Bryce and Devontae Cacok also scored in double-figures with 16 and 12 points.

The Seahawks, appearing in the semifinals for the third straight season, head back to the title contest on Monday night to face either second-seeded College of Charleston or third-seeded Towson at 7:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

William & Mary (17-14), which made its fourth-straight semifinal appearance, was led by senior Omar Prewitt’s 24 points and redshirt junior David Cohn’s 18 points in the setback. Freshman Nathan Knight scored all his 15 points in the second half on 6-of-6 FG shooting, while senior Daniel Dixon collected 10 points and five assists.

The 105 points were the second-most ever in a CAA Tournament game and most since Old Dominion scored a tournament-record 110 points in 1995.

Much of the second half was a cat-and-mouse game, as the Tribe threatened to cut the deficit numerous times, but the Hawks always had the answer. Ingram spearheaded the effort more than once, knocking down his third three-pointer of the half at the 8:33 mark, upping UNCW’s advantage to 12, 80-68.

With less than five minutes to play, another Seahawk three-pointer extended the lead again, this time to 15 points (91-76), and UNCW maintained control the rest of the way.

Both teams were on fire offensively. UNCW shot 58.9% from the floor, including 17-of-24 (70.8%) in the second half, and was 11-of-21 from three. W&M was nearly as good, shooting 55.9% from the floor, including 21-of-32 (65.6%) over the final 20 minutes, and made 11-of-26 from three.

Redshirt freshman Paul Rowley started on fire from behind the arc, as all three of his first shots of the game found the back of the net and accounted for nine Tribe points. Dixon’s three-point play with 11:35 left in the half put W&M ahead, 23-22.

The Seahawks, though, outscored the Tribe 20-10 as the half  progressed, and took the lead. Ambrose Mosley’s three-pointer with 2:31 to play capped the run before UNCW went into the break on top, 47-37.

Cohn led all players after 20 minutes with 15 points, including three treys, while Bryce and Cacok each had 10 points to pace seven UNCW players that found the scoreboard. Cohn and Rowley went a combined 6-for-7 from three-point range, while the rest of the Tribe went 0-for-8.

Notes: UNCW is the top seed for the sixth time and owns a 14-2 record with that seed. Coach Kevin Keatts is now 6-1 in CAA Tournament games. The Tribe was seeking their fifth title game appearance since 2008 and is now 4-2 under coach Tony Shaver in semifinal games. Sunday’s semifinals marked the first time since 2013 that the top four seeds all advanced.