If Sunday’s exhibition game brought out a UNC Wilmington team in midseason form, Friday’s win over Claflin featured a team that looked ready to win another championship.

The Seahawks set the tone of the contest from the opening whistle. They dictated tempo using coach Kevin Keatts’s fast-paced offense, forced turnovers, and made every shot imaginable on their way to a 110-64 win over the Panthers.

Featuring a starting lineup starkly similar to that of Sunday’s, UNCW was led by Preseason CAA Player of the Year Chris Flemmings. No longer limited by a lingering leg injury, the redshirt junior led the Seahawks with 28 points and four steals.

Flemmings created a potent one-two punch with sophomore C.J. Bryce (23 points, seven rebounds, five assists) early on. The duo combined for UNCW’s first 15 points in a stretch in which Claflin only totaled four points as a team.

“It felt good [to be without restrictions],” Flemmings said. “I’m just happy to be back and playing in front of this great crowd.”

Much like JaQuel Richmond did in UNCW’s exhibition, newcomer Ambrose Mosley took the opportunity to show off his shooting skills from beyond the arc. The transfer from Old Dominion finished with 16 points.

“That’s the guy that we expected — the guy that we recruited to knock down shots,” Keatts said of Mosley. “I’m happy for him to see the ball go in the hole. He was big tonight.”

The Seahawks played with a substantial lead for most of the game. With that lead came multiple miscues.

There was a moment midway through the second half when the Seahawks lapsed on defense. Showing his team he did not care about what the score may have been, Keatts pulled most players on the floor and reinserted the core group that started the game.

“When you’ve got a big lead, you have to learn how to play,” Keatts said. “You’ve got to learn how to play with a big lead and when you’re down a little bit. I’ve got to do a better job with our younger guys and with our new guys because Monday it’s a different story when you’re on the road.”

With the win, UNCW starts the season off 1-0 for the third time under Keatts. The team will go on the road Monday at Eastern Kentucky, a team the Seahawks beat last year in Trask Coliseum 78-59.

“I don’t worry about our older guys [when going on the road],” Keatts said. “We’re going to take the film tomorrow… and really work on the mistakes we made and mature from it in a short amount of time.”