ELON – Senior guard Chris Flemmings was stripped of the ball as he penetrated to the basket in the final seconds of Saturday’s Colonial Athletic Association contest as Elon held on, 77-76, to knock off the Seahawks in men’s basketball action at cozy Alumni Gym.
The Phoenix (16-11, 8-6) snapped a two-game losing streak and earned a split of the regular season series with their North Carolina partner in the CAA. The Seahawks (22-5, 11-3) had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell in the first leg of a three-game road swing.
“I thought we had too many breakdowns in the second half,” said third-year UNCW Head Coach Kevin Keatts “One of the keys for us was to guard the three-point line. We did a very good job in the first half by holding them to four made. But in the second half we had too many breakdowns in communication and they made six in the second half.”
UNCW had a pair of chances to win the game in the waning seconds, but couldn’t cash in against Elon’s stingy defense. The Seahawks missed a game-winning attempt with seven seconds on the clock before Flemmings sliced into the paint and had the ball swiped away in traffic.
Elon rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit – only the second team to accomplish the feat against the Seahawks this season – by limiting UNCW to 38.2 percent shooting in the second period. The Phoenix, meanwhile, shot 46.7 percent after the break, including 6-of-12 from long distance.
Jordon Talley and Denzel Ingram combined for 32 of UNCW’s 46 points as the Seahawks raced out to a 46-38 advantage at halftime. Talley made 7-of-11 field goals, including all three of his triple attempts, and Ingram canned 6-of-10 shots as UNCW rolled early following a sluggish start.
UNCW continues its three-game road trip by traveling north to play Northeastern and Hofstra. The Seahawks face the Huskies for the first time this season and the first of two meetings in the final four games on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.
