UNCW Men’s Basketball defends three well in road win
ELON, North Carolina (UNCWSports.com) – Senior forward Marcus Bryan scored in traffic with 23.4 seconds left in overtime – his only basket of the game – to lift UNCW over host Elon, 80-78, in the final appearance for the Seahawks at cozy Alumni Gym on Thursday night.
UNCW, wrapping up a three-game road trip, halted a two-game slide and improved to 5-12 overall and 2-3 in the circuit. The Phoenix lost for the second time in three games and stands 11-7 in all games and 3-2 in the loop.
Sophomore guard Jaylen Fornes paced four Seahawks in double figures with 20 points, including 15 in the first half. Sophomore guard Ty Taylor matched his career high for the fourth time this season with 17 points and senior guard Jordon Talley and junior forward Devontae Cacok chipped in 14 points apiece.
It was the first career road victory and first CAA road win for new Seahawk skipper C.B. McGrath and a memorable night for the Seahawks, who won their final game in the league’s smallest venue before the Phoenix open the 5,300-seat Schar Center next season.
“This was a great college basketball game and what the CAA’s all about,” said McGrath. “We haven’t had the ball bounce our way too many times so far this year and it was good to get a couple bounces our way.
“We really wanted to concentrate on the defensive end the last couple days in practice. To see those shots go in early really got our guys going defensively. We didn’t make as many shots in the second half, but defensively we competed and battled.
“We got the shots in the end that we wanted and got the stops in the end that we wanted. It was a total team effort. Everybody that went in there gave us something positive and I’m proud of them.”
The Phoenix, the CAA’s top three-point shooting team, went 13-of-40 from deep for 32.5 percent on the night and missed all four of their long range tries in overtime. The 40 attempts was a record for opponents against UNCW, surpassing the 39 tries by William & Mary on Feb. 2, 2008.
Junior forward Tyler Seibring, who went over 1,000 points in his career in a win last Sunday at Hofstra, led the Phoenix with 21 points. Junior guard Steven Santa Ana scored all 15 of his points in the first half, senior forward Brian Dawkins scored 12 and senior guard Dmitri Thompson finished with 10.
Cacok, the nation’s leading rebounder, was a dominating force around the tin in the contest, especially in the second half. He racked up his 13th double-double of the season and the 26th of his career with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
The Seahawks appeared to have the upper hand in regulation when Cacok converted an acrobatic tip with 11.2 seconds left, but Seibring made a layup with 2.5 seconds on the clock to knot the score. After a turnover by the Seahawks, Seibring missed an off-balance jumper near the right elbow, sending the game into extra time.
The two clubs were sluggish in the opening minutes of sudden death and the score was still tied at 78-all when Talley tossed in a pair of free throws with just over a minute left. But Elon freshman guard Sheldon Eberhardt misfired a jumper with 50 seconds left, setting up Bryan’s crucial layup with 23.4 ticks on the clock.
Eberhardt then missed two free throws on the other end, but Cacok also missed a pair with 3.3 seconds left and the Phoenix turned the ball over in the mid-court, giving the Seahawks their fourth victory in nine tries at Alumni Gym.
The Seahawks took the lead into the locker room for the seventh time this season behind the hot hand of Fornes, who connected on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long distance.
Elon jumped out of the gate quickly and scored 13 of the first 17 points for a 13-4 cushion. Santa Ana converted a steal and layup at 14:41 as the Phoenix enjoyed a nine-point bulge.
The Seahawks answered back in a big way, however, using a suffocating 20-2 run to take control midway through the period. Sparked by Fornes, who scored nine points in the spurt, UNCW fashioned a 24-15 lead when Fornes drained his third straight triple with 9:23 left in the opening period.
The Phoenix battled back to narrow the deficit to 31-29 on Santa Ann’s three-ball at 5:34, but the Seahawks responded again with a string of eight straight points. A trifecta by Jay Estime’ in the right corner pushed the lead back to 39-29 with just over three minutes remaining.
Elon closed the gap to 44-39 on a pair of free throws by Dainan Swope – his only points of the first half – before Jordon Talley dropped in a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds on the clock in the first period to send the Seahawks into the break with a 46-39 edge.
The Seahawks return home to entertain Northeastern on Saturday at 7 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs this season. The Phoenix remain at Alumni Gym to play host to the College of Charleston on Saturday at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The two teams will meet again on Thursday, Feb. 15, at Trask Coliseum…The Seahawks…UNCW leads the all-time series by a 10-8 margin…Elon finished with a 5-4 record vs. UNCW at Alumni Gym…With`4 points, Jordon Talley now has 1,039 points in four seasons with the Seahawks…UNCW is 4-3 against Elon in January games…The Seahawks are 4-3 against North Carolina opponents this season…Jaylen Fornes (UNCW) and Steven Santa Ana (Elon) each scored 15 points in the opening frame…Ty Taylor came up with a game-high six steals to go along with 17 points and five boards…The Seahawks evened their overtime record at 1-1 after falling at ECU in December…Marcus Bryan pulled down 11 rebounds…The Seahawks went 11-for-17 from long distance.
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