UNCW Can't Get a Late Roll at Hofstra
The Seahawks came up short in the final minutes on Monday night
Hofstra 73, UNCW 71
One roll of a layup.
Might have been the second-chance bucket by D-Stone Dubar. Could have been the Aaron Estrada step-back 3-pointer. Or maybe a Seahawk turnover.
Any of those plays are the difference between UNCW holding a commanding lead in the CAA and Hofstra winning a 73-71 slugfest on Monday night on Long Island.
BOX SCORE
Such is life in February college hoops, and the Hawks were on the wrong end of a high-level matchup that saw the Pride make more plays in crunch time — the first time UNCW has come up short in a close game since early December.
Mike Okauru was phenomenal again, finishing with 25 points on 6 of 8 from 3-point range, while Jaylen Sims had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jaylen Fornes had a few big buckets in a 13-point effort.
Here’s what we took from Monday night’s loss, as the Seahawks (16-7, 10-2) were one roll of an Okauru layup from going to overtime.
What a Treat
First off, what a fantastic showcase matchup for the CAA, as the 5 p.m. tipoff meant it drew a few more viewers from usual.
As the quality of the game picked up in the second half, the tweets started flowing from people praising the back-and-forth battle between the Seahawks and Pride (15-9, 7-4), with Okauru and James Baker Jr. doing battle with Estrada and Dubar.
It wasn’t a matter of either team making mistakes or the officiating crew slowing down the game, but instead, a couple of the best teams and players in the conference doing battle in an entertaining matchup.
Obviously, it would have been great to get the win, but it’s great to be a part of a truly fantastic basketball game that showed some outsiders that the CAA is pretty darn good.
Down the Stretch
After UNCW let one get away vs. Norfolk State on Dec. 1, it flipped the script in close games, as nearly every victory during the 12-game winning streak took some late-game heroics to finish.
In each game, the Seahawks turned to Okauru, Jaylen Sims and Shykeim Phillips in the final five minutes, with the trio of guards taking turns finding their way into the lane and finishing tough buckets at the rim — Okauru with his closing speed to the basket with sweeping layups, Phillips knocking down the elbow jumper or pivoting into openings at the basket, or Sims using his body to create space and get a look.
That’s exactly how UNCW got itself in position to win the game on Monday night, but over the final five minutes, the Hawks got away from their bread and butter, taking 9 of their final 11 attempts from 3-point range over the final 5:48 as Hofstra mixed in some zone defense.
The game was very much in the balance for the first four of those attempts, and rather than attacking, the Seahawks put up jumpers. The final five attempts were put up as UNCW scrambled to get back in the game — and successfully did — but it was out of character to see the Hawks put up jumpers there.
In some ways, it makes sense after the way they shot the ball on Saturday, but there’s a pretty clear correlation in this team playing its best basketball when one of those three guards is attacking the paint.
Finally, a Break
Finishing this three-game, five-day run brings the Seahawks to a stretch of 26 days in which they’ve played 26 games.
With four full days before Saturday’s matchup with Charleston, UNCW gets its longest break since the beginning of January.
Only then, the Hawks weren’t actually allowed to practice. There was also time off around Christmas, but players went home to be with family for the holidays.
In terms of breaks where the team hung around Wilmington and was able to practice, this is the longest respite the Seahawks have gotten since Dec. 2-10 — and even that was amid exams.
This time off couldn’t have come at a better time for a team that is clearly dealing with the effects of a compressed schedule, as Trazarien White seems to be dealing with some sort of injury (just 47 minutes over the past four games), Shykeim Phillips had his hand wrapped on Monday night and tied a season-low with two points, and Jaylen Sims had something going on with his shoulder on Saturday.
Aside from injuries and fatigue, a few days of practice will allow the coaching staff to add some wrinkles to an offense that has increasingly seeing packed lanes and tweak a defense that forced just 10.3 turnovers on this three-game road swing.
Four days off doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’ll make a world of difference in preparing the Hawks to meet Charleston, then William & Mary on Monday.
A Big Step
Baker and Amari Kelly both gave the Seahawks big minutes on Monday night, providing a bigger offensive boost to go with their usual solid defense and rebounding down low.
Baker had 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting to go with four rebounds and a block, while Kelly had 6 points on a perfect 3 for 3 with five rebounds in 12 minutes.
Both big men looked confident when they had offensive opportunities and did a great job catching passes when guards set them up.
Pending White and Phillips are themselves again soon, a 17-point performance from Baker and Kelly is going to make UNCW really hard to beat.
The Big Picture
UNCW lost to a good team by two points, on the road, on a night when two regular starters (White and Phillips) combined for four points and three rebounds.
Had a chance to tie it at the horn, and just didn’t get the roll on Okauru’s layup. The Seahawks played hard, and at times, played pretty well. It happens.
UNCW remains a game up in the CAA standings on Towson (17-7, 8-3) and the Tigers are set for a visit to Trask on Feb. 17 — one of four straight home games for UNCW, who will also face Charleston (13-9, 5-5), William & Mary (5-19, 4-7) and James Madison (13-9, 4-7).
Take care of business on this homestand, and the Hawks will be in great shape to lock up the regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the tournament.