The Seahawks have been defeated by the Towson Tigers in the quarterfinals of the CAA conference tournament. The final score of this game was 66-56. Towson was led by Dylan Williamson and Nendah Tarke. They had 18 points and 15 points respectively. UNCW was led by Trazarian White and Shykeim Phillips. They had 24 points and 16 points respectively. No other player on the Seahawks recorded more than eight points, and only five players recorded a made field goal. 

The tournament was held in Washington D.C from March 8-12. UNCW entered the tournament as the #4 seed and received a double bye, playing their first and only game on Sunday, March 10. 

The Seahawks entered this matchup with a 21-9 regular season record, and a 12-6 in-conference record. Towson entered the game with an 18-13 and 11-7 conference records. The two teams met twice already this season, each winning their home game in the regular season. The Seahawks final regular season game was against the Tigers, played on March 2, which resulted in an 11-point win for the Hawks on Senior Day.

Key Statistics  

The Towson Tigers shoot an average of 19.6 three-pointers per game, only converting 32.6% of their 3-point field goals.  

The Towson Tigers enter the game averaging 12.1 TO/ per game, with a –1.1 margin. The Seahawks typically excel at controlling possession. They enter the game averaging 8.6 turnovers per game, with a +3.6 margin. That positive ratio makes for 18th nationally, while the 8.6 turnovers per game ranks 4th nationally.  

Shykeim Phillips ranks fourth nationally in assist to turnover ratio. For the season his ratio is +3.9 but over his last ten, he has 53 assists to only seven turnovers.  

UNCW is 2-8 in their last 10 meetings with Towson, dating back to March 2019.  

When Towson outrebounds their opponents, they have a 16-7 record, compared to a 2-6 record when they are outrebounded.

The most recent matchup played between these two teams was a physical battle. Towson’s Charles Thompson was ejected from the game for a verbal altercation with UNCW’s Nolan Hodge; multiple technical fouls were awarded to individuals from both sides. This game is one of the premier matchups that regularly appears in the CAA.  

Towson is 16-2 when leading at half, and 1-10 while trailing. They are 1-1 in games that were tied at the half. In this game, UNCW needed to focus on 3-point efficiency, team rebounding and getting off to a hot start. They were unable to do that, as they ended up shooting 4-21 from three-point range. The Seahawks were also outrebounded by the Tigers in this matchup, with Towson bringing in 36 rebounds compared to UNCW’s 25.  

The Seahawks were winning 30-26 in the first half with just a few moments to go before CAA Rookie of the Year Tyler Tejada launched a three-quarter court shot and banked it in off the backboard. This suddenly cut the Seahawks’ lead to only one point and swayed the momentum going into the halftime break. The Towson Tigers dictated the tempo and style of this game from here on out. In the second half the Seahawks were outscored 37-26 by the Tigers.  

This was the final career game of multiple key players. Shykeim Phillips was a five-year program player and means so much to this program and fanbase. It will be interesting to see the trajectory the program takes in his absence. This offseason is massively important for the university for preparing incoming and returning athletes. 

We will update Seahawk fans with a season recap to conclude coverage of the 2023-2024 UNCW Men’s Basketball season.