UNCW wins CAA, heading to ‘Big Dance’ for second straight year

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WWAY) — UNCW is going dancing again.

The Seahawks won a second straight Colonial Athletic Association crown Monday night by beating the College of Charleston 78-69 in the CAA Tournament Championship at North Charleston Coliseum in South Carolina. It marks the sixth CAA title for UNCW, which is the most among the conference’s current teams.

The top-seeded Seahawks and Cougars played a choppy game throughout the first half as UNCW took a 31-25 lead into the locker room.

Charleston kept things close early in the second half. The Cougars cut the UNCW lead to 45-43 with 13:46 to go and 47-45 just 24 seconds later, but that’s when the Seahawks took over. A 13-3 UNCW pushed the score to 60-48, and the Seahawks never looked back, even as Charleston tried to fight back and make things interesting in the game’s final minutes.

C.J. Bryce led Kevin Keatts’s squad with 24 points on the night. Bryce was 9-15 from the field, including 3-4 on three-pointers

Sophomore forward Devontae Cacok cuts down the net after UNCW wins the CAA Championship on March 6, 2017. (Photo: John Rendleman/WWAY)

UNCW became the first team to win back-to-back CAA titles since Old Dominion in 2010 and 2011.

By claiming the CAA’s automatic berth into the NCAA field of 68, the Seahawks are going to the “Big Dance” in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2003, when Coach Brad Brownell’s team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year after Jerry Wainwright led the Seahawks to the second round.

UNCW now waits until Sunday evening to find out who they will play in the NCAAs. You can watch the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show on CBS and WWAY starting at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Last year UNCW drew a Round of 64 match-up against then defending National Champion Duke. The Seahawks led for much of the game before the Blue Devils pulled out a 93-85 win in Providence, RI.

“We’re excited about our opportunity. We won’t think about that until next Sunday,” Keatts said when asked after the game how the loss to Duke last year will help his team this year. “Right now, we’re just gonna be all UNCW. We’re just gonna celebrate.”

Kevin Keatts cuts down the net and celebrates!