Just one season ago, the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks were the laughing stock of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished last year with a 3 – 13 record in CAA play, and suffered a first-round defeat in the conference tournament to the Hofstra Pride. This season brought a new coach into the mix, and that kick-started a series of changes for the Seahawks on the court. They have played their way into contention in the conference, and had the chance to make a big statement with a win on Saturday night.
Their opponent on Saturday was the preseason favourite to win the conference. The Northeastern Huskies entered 2014-15 as the preseason pick to win the CAA title this season, and for good reason. They are a talented and experienced group who should be successful in a weaker-than-usual conference this season. They have lived up to the hype so far this season, and find themselves in the thick of things in the conference race.
Both of these teams entered Saturday night’s tilt at 9 – 4 in the conference. Only one could come away with a win and tie William & Mary atop the conference standings, and that team was last year’s cellar dweller.
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks defended their home court on Valentine’s Day, and came away with a hard-fought 66 – 61 victory.
The first five minutes of the game went by without much hesitation, and the Seahawks raced out to an 8 – 2 lead. Cedrick Williams made his presence felt early on the defensive end for the Seahawks, turning back a Scott Eatherton shot just over two minutes into the game.
Eatherton would tie the game up at 10 – all with a pair of free throws at the 12:46 mark, then UNC-Wilmington would score on four consecutive possessions to lead to a Northeastern timeout just ahead of the second media timeout. The Seahawks had stretched the lead to 8, but as the trend would be over the course of the game, the trailing team wouldn’t go away. This time it was Northeastern, and they kept UNC-Wilmington in their sights.
The Huskies’ persistence would finally pay off, as they took their first lead since the opening minute of the game with 3:19 to play in the opening half. Eatherton put in a layup on a pass from Chris Donnelly, and the Huskies led 26 – 25.
The lead was short-lived, as Addison Spruill would take the lead back for the Seahawks, albeit for a brief moment. Eatherton scored four straight points as Northeastern retook the lead. In the closing seconds, the teams would trade leads before David Walker made 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give Northeastern the lead at the break.
After the first 20 minutes, Northeastern held a slim 31 – 30 lead over UNC-Wilmington.
Northeastern opened the second half by stretching their lead to five points, thanks to buckets by Quincy Ford and Scott Eatherton. Cedric Williams and Eatherton would then trade jumpers as Williams drew the Seahawks back to within three points before the first media timeout of the half.
Out of the timeout, UNC-Wilmington went on a 10 – 3 run to take a 44 – 40 lead of their own. From there, the Seahawks would never look back the rest of the game.
The Huskies would tie the game at 51 – all, but the Seahawks would never let them take the lead as the game wore down, holding onto the lead until the final buzzer went off.
In a battle of 9 – 4 teams in the conference, the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks came away with the hard-earned 66 – 61 victory on their home floor on Valentine’s Day to send all of their fans home with a warm feeling in their hearts.
For the visiting Northeastern Huskies, Scott Eatherton had himself quite the game on Saturday. Eatherton led all scorers in the game with 23 points to go along with 8 rebounds in the loss. Guard David Walker had himself a nice game, recording 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team to victory.
For the hometown UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, a balanced scoring attack led them to victory. Four players reached double figures, led by guard Addison Spruill, who recorded a team-high 16 points to go along with 5 rebounds. Guard Craig Ponder added in 15 points of his own in the win.
The loss was the second in three games for the Northeastern Huskies (17 – 10, 9 – 5). The Huskies are still in the thick of things in the conference standings, and have the chance to make a statement in their next game when they welcome conference co-leader William & Mary to town on Wednesday.
The win marked the third over the last four games for the conference co-leading UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (15 – 10, 10 – 4). The road to the end of the season is a tough one for the Seahawks, as three of their last four games are on the road. They travel to take on the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens on Thursday.