UNCW men’s basketball advances to CAA Tournament semifinals with win over Hampton
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WECT) – UNCW men’s basketball is one step closer to the NCAA Tournament after a 79-65 win over Hampton in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals.
The win means the Seahawks need just two more wins – on Monday and Tuesday – to clinch their first trip to March Madness since 2017. They’ll face the winner of Charleston-Monmouth on Monday night at 8:30 p.m at CareFirst Arena.
A strong regular season provided the ‘Hawks with the tournament’s second seed and a double bye. They led the 10th-seeded Pirates from start to finish, taking a 17-point lead into halftime and fending off a second-half push to win convincingly.
“It’s indicative of this group all year, just going through adversity,” UNCW head coach Takayo Siddle said postgame. “We always respond together, in the right way.”
Eight different Seahawks scored and recorded at least 15 minutes. Four players – including graduate student Bo Montgomery, who notched a game-high 18 – finished with double-digits points. Siddle hopes the depth keeps UNCW fresh for the rest of the tournament.
“We attack you in different ways, we come at you in waves,” he said. “We believe in strength in a unit, and that’s something that we talk about a lot.”
Postgame, Siddle was pleased with his team’s preparation, saying UNCW gets ready for every game like a trophy is at stake. The ‘Hawks had lost last year in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals against Towson.
The Seahawks now turn their focus to Monday night’s game, where a berth in the conference championship game will be on the line.
“(Our) staff did a great job preparing us, and attacking every day just one day at a time. And taking all these games as one-game tournaments, not looking ahead to who we’ll maybe play and stuff like that, but just focusing on being the most connected group every day,” junior Noah Ross said postgame.
WECT will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. before and after the Seahawks’ next game, and throughout its run in the CAA Tournament.
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