Seahawks show growth, hang on to win
UNCW squandered a late, but got late heroics and good decisions
UNCW 71, High Point 69
Scar tissue is building for the Seahawks.
Only one week after a disastrous performance on the road, a different UNCW showed up on Saturday afternoon at High Point’s Qubein Center — a group seasoned by early-season adversity and eager to show what they’ve learned from narrow losses and critical mistakes in close games.
The Seahawks certainly bent as they squandered a 14-point lead, but they never broke, coming up with key rebounds and creating just enough down the stretch to top the Panthers 71-69.
Box Score | High Point Enterprise
Shykeim Phillips scored eight of his 17 points in overtime before fouling out, while senior Jaylen Sims dropped in the winning bucket on his way to 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Here’s what we learned from the Seahawks’ second straight victory…
Growing Up
For a while there, it felt like UNCW might have truly found a new gear, using suffocating defense to force turnovers, hit a few big passes for layups and knocking down transition threes to build a 53-39 lead with 9:36 to play.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the offense got stagnant, and decisions got iffy as the Panthers closed the gap.
But rather than fully folding and let HPU finish the comeback, UNCW dug in and made big plays when it counted.
Mike Okauru hounded John-Michael Wright to limit him from getting even more than the 28 points he did put up. Jamahri Harvey came up with a massive rebound at the end of regulation, emerging from a mass in the paint.
It’s a small thing, but James Baker Jr. set a few great screens to help Phillips get good looks in overtime. Sims, who had gone to the bench in overtime, got back in the game and played within himself and made the right decisions.
Another key? UNCW closed out possessions in crunch time, allowing only one offensive rebound in the final five minutes of regulation plus overtime.
Obviously, not ideal to let a 14-point lead get away but it definitely takes toughness to halt that momentum and salvage a win on the road.
“I just told our guys that was a straight character win; a team character win,” UNCW coach Takayo Siddle said. “We’ve been going through adversity — we’re still going through it after what experienced last weekend — and these guys battled, they stayed connected; they showed a lot of grit and toughness today.”
Not so Shy
It’s been a strange season for Phillips, and in many ways, that’s been no fault of his own. Because of the Seahawks’ offensive struggles, Siddle is in the midst of trying to use him as an off-ball scorer to maximize his scoring ability by taking other responsibilities off his plate.
This isn’t an argument one way or another on that, but instead, a very astute observation that UNCW is a better team with Phillips on the floor.
With the game on the line in overtime, Siddle put the ball in Phillips’ hands and told him to go to work. A couple of times, he beat his man one-on-one, and a couple of times, he worked off screens at the top of the key to hit 4 of 5 attempts from the field, scoring eight straight points for UNCW.
“Shykeim is such a talented offensive player, so we just wanted to give space so he could make plays, and he did that tonight,” Siddle said. “Having him into there to make plays off the dribble, whether that was for himself or his teammates, that was important.”
Phillips’ 17 points was a season-high, and surprisingly, was the first time he’d scored in double-figures since Nov. 18 vs. Coastal Carolina — a stretch of five games.
Call him a point guard, call him a wing, call him whatever: Phillips is better than anyone else on the roster at beating his man off the bounce and getting into the lane.
His jumper from the elbow has proven pretty reliable, while he’s also been very good at creating space and getting off some crafty shots around the rim.
This could be a big step in preparing Phillips for the scoring role Siddle envisions.
Upping the Pace
The Seahawks continue to improve their tempo, pushing the ball more quickly and efficiently whether it’s off at turnover or even a made basket.
Jaylen Fornes hitting Okauru with a long pass for a dunk is just one example of how UNCW is prioritizing the break.
In all, the Seahawks finished with 25 fastbreak points and 19 points off turnovers, while getting 28 fastbreak points and 20 off turnovers on Wednesday vs. Mount Olive.
The past two games, with 77 and 74 possessions, have been UNCW’s fastest of the season.
Quality over Quantity
We still like the 3-pointers; we just need to spend a little less time together to improve our relationship.
After averaging 27.7 3-point attempts over the first eight games, UNCW has cut that number down to 14.5 over the past two games.
As the Seahawks prioritize penetration and paint touches, they’ve become far more efficient from beyond the arc, hitting 14/29 attempts.
Over the first eight games of the season, the Seahawks made 61 of 220 attempts for a percentage of 27.7.
Finish Strong
Only one nonconference game remains, as Campbell is set to visit Trask Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.
For the second straight season, UNCW is poised to enter CAA play with a winning record, as well as a winning record in December — both encouraging milestones as the program progresses.
Saturday was yet another glimpse of what the Seahawks can accomplish when they play with more energy than the opponent, fly around with active hands on the press and go to battle in the paint.
UNCW was definitely the tougher team at High Point, with almost every big 50/50 ball going its way.
Say what you want about the opponents, but you can only play your schedule, and the Seahawks took care of business with a blowout win and a road win as an underdog — not a bad week for a team that looked lost one week ago and lost a player to the transfer portal on Wednesday.
Now, it’s maintaining that level of focus and execution for a full 40 minute, every time out.
Saturday might have been a step in showing these Seahawks what they can do.
“It’ll do a lot,” Siddle said. “The biggest challenge for me now is to keep them grounded, keep them hungry, but I think it will go a long way for our confidence
“I think it showed them how good we can be when we play together, when we play tough, when we stay connected. It can go a long way for us.”