UNCW falls short in quest for CAA basketball title, drops title game to Charleston

WASHINGTON, DC (WECT) - The UNCW Men’s Basketball team came up short in a bid to make the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time in six years.

The third-seeded Seahawks fell to Charleston 63-58 Tuesday night in the final of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

Coach Takayo Siddle’s team showed its determination, falling behind by a 42-34 margin in the second-half to the second-seeded Cougars. But the Seahawks ripped off a 15-0 run to take the lead, only to see Charleston outscore UNCW 10-5 in the last 4:25 of the contest to seal the victory.

“I thought we fought and were a tougher team,” Coach Siddle said in an email news release. “We executed our game plan and just came up short at the end. The fight and the toughness of our guys can’t be questioned. I’m very proud of this group. Nobody expected us to do anything. These guys bonded together over the course of the season and we did some amazing things.”

Trazarien White and Amari Kelly led the Seahawks with 17 points each, as the team fell to 24-10 on the season. Charleston improved to 31-3 behind 23 points from Ryan Larson.

White and Larson both made the all-tournament team, and Larson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

CAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Ante Brzovic, Charleston

Aaron Estrada, Hofstra

Ryan Larson, Charleston

Donovan Newby, UNCW

Nicolas Timberlake, Towson

Trazarien White, UNCW

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