Seahawks Rally, Will Play for Baha Mar Title
UNCW completes 14-point comeback to reach championship game
UNCW 68, Vermont 66
It wasn’t much fun, watching the Seahawks struggle through a nightmare first half on Saturday evening, slow to the ball and unable to keep Catamount guards from getting to the bucket.
But there was a certain sense of déjà vu, seeing his team play as poorly as it possibly could and still remain in striking distance.
“In the first half we didn’t do anything right — anything,” Coach Takayo Siddle said. “We couldn’t guard the basketball; on the other end, our shots weren’t falling, we were going up soft at the rim. We weren’t playing hard enough.”
And then boom, just like that, a 51-37 deficit turned into a 52-51 lead in a matter of five minutes. Just like the good ol’ days, when UNCW led the nation in 10-point comebacks last season.
Here’s how the Seahawks pulled off their first big rally of the season, and what it means for Sunday’s championship game vs. North Texas.
Next Man Up
In Friday’s win over Missouri State, both Jamarii Thomas (13 points, 4 rebounds) and Nick Farrar (5 points, 3 rebounds) played key roles for the Seahawks.
On Saturday, neither was quite having the same impact.
After playing only seven minutes Friday, Jamahri Harvey got an opportunity on Saturday, and gave the Seahawks 27 minutes off the bench with a couple of big 3-pointers, solid defense and good decisions in moving the ball on offense.
For the second straight game, Donovan Newby came off the bench with a strong second-half performance, scoring 8 points in 12 minutes. On Friday vs. MSU, Newby had 9 points in 16 second-half minutes.
“In the second half, we made a substitution, the guys coming off the bench gave us big energy and helped us close the gap, and our guys finished it off,” Siddle said.
So far this season, nine different players have posted double-digit scoring performances for the Seahawks.
Just two seasons ago, UNCW was playing six guys late in the season. Now, Siddle has the luxury to go 12 deep and roll with the best matchup or ride the hot hand.
That also gives players the ability to go all-out when they’re on the floor, knowing there won’t be a major drop-off when they need a rest.
Shy Time
Speaking of déjà vu, we had the honor of watching Shykeim Phillips turn in a vintage performance, going for 22 points (7/14 FG; 8/8 FT), including 14 points over the final 12 minutes.
The senior guard got into the lane whenever he wanted in the second half, beating defenders off the bounce to finish at the rim, pull up for his patented quick jumper or get to the free throw line.
It was obviously a point of focus for the Seahawks, and directly correlated to the comeback.
“You kind of go with what you know, right? We’ve seen that so many times last year,” Siddle said.
During his postgame interview on Flo, Siddle was asked what he learned about Phillips.
“I didn’t learn anything,” he said. “I already knew who he was — that dude is … we call him a ‘City Guard’ — we don’t have to run plays for him.
“The dude is a big-time competitor, he’s a big-time team guy. More than anything, he’s a special, special person of high character and he prepares the right way. He earns the right to play well.”
In the second halves of the Baha Mar games, Phillips has 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field while hitting 6 of 6 at the free throw line.
UNCW (4-3) vs. North Texas (5-1)
8 p.m. | Baha Mar Convention Center | FloHoops | Listen | Stats
The Mean Green advanced to the championship game by way of a 69-54 win over San Jose State followed by a 68-47 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday night.
Coach Grant McCasland (109-59) has used defense to build a winner at UNT, getting an NCAA Tournament win over Purdue in 2021, and narrowly missing the field after going 25-7 last season. This is another program that knows nothing but winning in recent years.
Meet the Mean Green
UNT will slow the game to a snails’ pace, currently ranking dead-last nationally in tempo and offensive possession length. They’re 356th (of 363) in defensive possession length, thanks to a pack-line defense that places a premium on keeping opponents out of the middle of the court and limiting their abilities to rotate the ball.
The Mean Green has forced turnovers on 26.1 percent of possessions this season, helping fuel a defense that ranks 57th nationally in efficiency.
Offensively, Tylor Perry (19.5 points) has quickly become The Guy this season, including a 35-point outburst in the win over SJSU.
He’s hit 9 of 13 attempts from 3-point range at Baha Mar, but Perry isn’t just a shooter. At 5-11, 180 pounds, he’s a smaller — but stout — point guard with lightning-quick handles who isn’t afraid to drive on anyone. There’s potential for a great matchup with Phillips.
UNT’s main post threat is the 6-10, 230-pound Abou Ousmane (11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds) while Kai Huntsberry (12.3 points) can score it and has the ability to make threes in bunches.
KenPom rankings for UNCW: No. 189 overall; No. 203 offense, No. 176 defense.
KenPom rankings for UNT: No. 65 overall; No. 77 offense, No. 57 defense.
KenPom forecast: UNT 64, UNCW 56 (23 percent chance of victory).
Keys for UNCW
When the Seahawk offense has gotten stagnant this season, it’s been when the ball isn’t moving to both sides of the floor. Given UNT’s commitment to limit that movement, the Seahawks will have to have an emphasis on creating that action, even if it’s as simple as using the perimeter weave they’ve occasionally mixed in to get the ball to Phillips and Trazarien White on the move.
UNCW is showing that it can be a solid 3-point shooting team when it gets those looks in-rhythm. When you run into a methodical, pack-line style defense, it’s easy to get lulled into putting up shots beyond the arc rather than taking on the challenge of beating them to the paint. Possessions will be at a premium in this one, so the Seahawks can’t afford to take quick threes when there are better shots available.
The Seahawks have the benefit of playing two pretty rough first halves at Baha Mar. This will be a more physical game than both of those, and with the way UNT guards, it can lead to frustration. Luckily, UNCW has proven time and again that it will eventually find a way to play its game — even if it takes a few minutes to get there.
Opponents are shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range against the Mean Green this season, ranking their defense 333rd nationally. Keeping with the theme of next man up, maybe this is the one for Eric Van Der Heijden to make a difference after two quiet games.