UNC Wilmington coach Kevin Keatts said before Sunday’s game vs. Eastern Tennessee State that it would be one of the toughest home games for the Seahawks since his time at UNCW began — and for much of the afternoon, that was true.

The Buccaneers, who came in averaging 101.5 points per game, kept the Seahawks off the scoreboard by forcing UNCW to settle for jumpshots early on. 

But the Seahawks eventually found their groove behind sophomore Devontae Cacok, taking a 12-point lead into halftime on their way to a 68-59 win.

After senior Ambrose Mosley tipped in a missed three-point shot at the buzzer to end the first half, UNCW carried its momentum to start the final 20 minutes by scoring six unanswered points to extend its lead to 18.

ETSU would continue to challenge UNCW by steadily chipping away at the Seahawks’ lead. They came within as many as five points in the game’s final minutes before Chris Flemmings hit a three to extend his team’s lead back to nine.

“We beat a good East Tennessee State basketball team today,” said Keatts. “Their numbers were off the charts coming into the game… We knew in order to have a chance to win the game we would have to be solid on the defensive end, and I think our guys did a great job of accepting the challenge.”

UNCW was lead by Cacok — Keatts has referred to him as a “super” sophomore — and his 17 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. He combined with Flemmings (15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks) to make up nearly half of the team’s scoring.

Keatts introduced transfer JaQuel Richmond into the starting lineup for the first time this season after the redshirt sophomore impressed in the campaign’s first two outings. He tallied 12 points and three rebounds in the point guard spot for the Seahawks.

Only seven players saw the court Sunday for UNCW — Keatts said after the game that he hasn’t gained enough trust in his freshmen to play them in tight situations like those against the Buccaneers.

“I told those guys after the game that we’ve got three games coming up in Nashville and I just didn’t feel like it was a game for the freshmen,” Keatts said. “In order for us to be successful this weekend I want to play about nine guys, and I certainly didn’t feel like (the freshmen) were ready.”

The Seahawks missed the experience Jordan Talley could have brought to the table to alleviate the high number of minutes played by UNCW’s starters, who averaged 36.8 minutes each on Sunday.

UNCW will travel to Nashville later this week as part of the “Challenge in Music City,” where it will face Middle Tennessee State, Evansville, and Toledo.