The Seahawks are looking for their third straight victory

UNCW (5-5) vs. Campbell (7-3)

12 p.m. | Trask Coliseum | FloHoops | Listen | StatBroadcast

An old friend is in town for the holidays, as the Fighting Camels make the trip down for a little Christmas get-together on Wednesday afternoon at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks, who have played their way on to Santa’s “Nice” list over the past week, will have an opportunity for an early gift as they meet a solid Campbell squad with the chance to finish their nonconference schedule with a winning record for the second straight season.

UNCW Game Notes | Campbell Game Notes

It won’t be a one-horse, open sleigh ride for UNCW, however, as the Camels have taken a step forward this season with a disciplined Princeton offense, that like Ebenezer Scrooge, doesn’t believe in handing out gifts to the opposition.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know for Wednesday’s matinee.

Meet the Camels

Key Players: F Jesus Carralero (11.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.9 steals); G Cedric Henderson Jr. (13 points, 6.2 rebounds); G Ricky Clemons (10.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists); G Messiah Thompson (9.5 points, 2.4 rebounds); G Jordan Whitfield (9.4 points, 2.4 assists); G Austin McCullough (8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds).

The Camels are a well-coached squad that runs a well-oiled Princeton-style often, relying on ball screens, continual cuts, precise timing and skilled big men operating from the high post.

Coach Kevin McGeehan found a perfect player to help run the show, as the 6-8, 220-pound Carralero is a talented passer who has no problem putting the ball on the floor to attack the basket. Along with setting the table for the Camels, the high-motor Carralero rebounds well and has the ability to keep defenses honest from beyond the arc.

The Seahawks will also be plenty aware of Henderson, who burned them for 23 points and nine rebounds in last season’s matchup in Buies Creek.

KenPom rankings for UNCW: No. 298 overall, No. 272 Offense, No. 305 Defense.

KenPom rankings for Campbell: No. 169 overall, No. 150 Offense, No. 202 Defense.

KenPom forecast: Campbell 67, UNCW 63 (36 percent chance of victory).

Lockdown Defense

It’s going to take UNCW’s best defensive performance of the season to win this one, but it’s not as easy as jumping passing lanes and overplaying every cut.

Campbell’s offense is geared to give it a chance teams that are bigger and more athletic by using their aggression against them by taking advantage of over-eager defenders.

There lies the problem for the Seahawks, who have season-highs of 13 and 11 steals over the past two games. In particular, UNCW was more aggressive with ball-denial on the wings vs. High Point, and pressured the ball harder than ever out toward midcourt.

Against Campbell, the Seahawks will have to be more judicious in how and when they’re looking for steals and traps, because the Camels will quickly turn those gambles into buckets.

That doesn’t mean UNCW should sit back and allow Campbell to dictate the pace, but it will have to find a balance in playing it safe vs. playing the active, aggressive defense that the Seahawks need to play their best.

The Camels turn the ball over on 16.4 percent of possessions, good for 47th nationally.

Drive and Kick

Taking and making a bunch of threes is going to be a hallmark of this offensive system, but for any number of reasons, the Seahawks just aren’t there yet.

After the loss at Jacksonville on Dec. 11, Coach Takayo Siddle and his staff made a clear adjustment for the offense, which has manifesting in a dramatic cut in the number of 3-point attempts going up.

After averaging 27.5 3-point attempts over the first eight games, UNCW has taken a total of 29 over the past two games. It seems the Seahawks are now leaning more toward quality than quantity, hitting 48.2 percent of those 3-point attempts vs. HPU and Mount Olive, versus 27.2 percent in the previous eight games.

Largely, that’s been the result in how much the Seahawks are screening now, with a bigger emphasis on using high ball screens to open up space, create mismatches and get the ball moving toward the lane.

“I’m spacing the floor out a little bit more and setting more pick-and-rolls for the guys to play in space, and it’s making two guys get on the ball, so the kicks are there,” Siddle said.

UNCW will have an opportunity to win this game from beyond the arc — but it will have a chance to lose it there, too.

Even against Duke, the Camels went under screens and chose to fill up the lane defensively.

There will be opportunities to put up shots from beyond the arc, but the Seahawks can’t do that at the expense of running the offense and attacking the basket, as it’ll be a matter of taking the best shot vs. taking the first shot.

“Defensively, they’re going to probably go under all of our screens, they’re probably going to pack the paint in, so we’re going to have to be able to make some shots,” Siddle said. “We’re going to have to be able to take our time to loosen them up, get to multiple sides of the court. We still want to play inside-out, but we’re going to have to take our time and our rhythm threes are going to be there, and we have to step up and make them.”

Settling In

As talented as Shykeim Phillips is, moving him into a scoring-focused role on the wing wasn’t an instant success, as the Seahawks had to feel things out with a new point guard and Phillips needed to feel things out in a new spot.

Safe to say, it’s all coming together in the past week, as Phillips turned a good performance into a memorable one as he closed with eight points in overtime at HPU.

In the 47 minutes Phillips has played in the past two games, UNCW has outscored its opponents 91-70. In the 38 minutes he’s spent on the bench, the Seahawks’ advantage is only 65-54.

For the season, Phillips has now moved into the top spot among rotation players as UNCW’s most impactful player in Pivot Analysis’ On/Off measure, as the Seahawks are 23.68 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

That breaks down to over 14 points better offensively, and nine points better defensively per 100 possesions.

All that’s to say that the Seahawks the best version of themselves with the junior guard on the floor.

Taking it Home

A Noon tipoff on Wednesday presents a unique challenge in itself, as there are likely to be plenty of empty seats in Trask.

Add in the fact that after the game, players are free to head home to spend time with their families for Christmas, and it’s an entirely different challenge to get young adults motivated and focused to play a basketball game.

Those of us who (unfortunately or fortunately) spend our days sitting at a desk know what it’s like to watch that clock tick down on the Friday of a holiday weekend, so it’s only human nature to check out mentally.

Motivation and effort haven’t been a problem for this team, but it would certainly be an encouraging sign if the Seahawks showed up with a high-energy performance for 40 (or more) minutes today.

Tip Ins

• This marks the 107th meeting between UNCW and Campbell, with the Seahawks leading the all-time series 62-44.

• UNCW is 25-2 vs. Campbell in Trask Coliseum with 10 straight victories.

• Jamahri Harvey has made at least one 3-pointer in six straight games for the Seahawks, hitting 12 of 28 attempts over that stretch.

• Jaylen Sims is averaging 15 points in two games vs. Campbell, while Mike Okauru is averaging 14.

• Forward Khadim Samb has played at six minutes or more in three straight games.

• James Baker Jr. and Okauru are the only players to start all 10 games.

• Four different players (Phillips, Okauru, Sims, White) have led the Seahawks in scoring in a game this season.