City of Basketball Love

Adam Hermann (@AdamWHermann)
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UNCW played to its strengths, dominated the paint, and emerged from snowy Philadelphia with a 77-71 victory over Drexel on Sunday

The Seahawks drove the lane early and often against the Dragons, spreading the floor and opening up three-point looks in the second half. UNCW hit five of seven three-point attempts in the second half, including three from Denzel Ingram, to pull away.

At First…
UNCW owned the boards in the first half. C.J. Gettys grabbed six for himself as the Seahawks piled up 21 rebounds to Drexel’s 14, and pulled down eight offensive boards to the Dragons’ two.

But Gettys and the Seahawks turned those boards into just six second-chance points in the first frame, and the offense struggled to find a rhythm. C.J. Bryce scored just two first-half points, as did Craig Ponder, who tweaked his ankle early on.

At the other end, Rodney Williams poured in 11 points on six field goal attempts, including a rare jump shot from the top of the key. He and Kazembe Abif combined for 17 first-half points on nine shots, and the Dragons shot 52 percent from the field.

Something changed in the locker room at halftime, however, and Drexel emerged without a rhythm on offense. The Dragons missed 11 of their first 16 shots, and UNCW capitalized on the drought.

Turning Point…
Drexel opened the half with a three-point play from Tavon Allen to take a 40-32 lead less than 30 seconds out of the break.

From there, the Seahawks took the game over, scoring 18 of the game’s next 25 points to turn the eight-point deficit into a 50-47 lead with just over 12 minutes to play, never surrendering the lead again despite a few threatening stabs from the Dragons.

Chris Flemmings, C.J. Bryce and Denzel Ingram each scored six points apiece during the run, which proved to be the push UNCW needed to steal the game.

Standout Stars…
For the Dragons, Williams led the way with 17 points and five rebounds, shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Kazembe Abif added 14 points and four rebounds.

The Seahawks were piloted by 21 points from Denzel Ingram, 21 points and nine rebounds from Chris Flemmings, and 17 points from C.J. Bryce.

Noteworthy Number(s)…
43: The number of rebounds UNCW pulled down, compared to Drexel’s 29. The Seahawks scored 15 second-chance points to just 7 for the Dragons.

11: There were 11 lead changes in a tightly-contested first half. In the second half, there was just one, as UNCW wrested the lead from Drexel.

4: The number of Drexel inbounds passes that were turned over to UNCW, including one with less than four minutes left.

Up next…
Drexel (3-16, 1-7) vs. Towson (1/28, 7 p.m.)
UNCW (14-5, 6-2) at James Madison (1/28, 7 p.m.)