After snapping a 14-game losing streak Monday night in a win over Towson, UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team was able to stretch their newly adopted winning streak to two games Thursday night as the Seahawks topped the Northeastern Huskies, 55-45.

“We wanted to build on the last win against Towson,” said Cedrick Williams, junior forward for UNCW. “It let us know and let everybody else know that we are just now getting started. We want to peak at the right time, and I feel like that’s what we are doing right now.”

Right from the tip, it was clear that the Seahawks came in to this game with a newfound confidence. They started the game on a 7-0 run, and players were vocal and aggressive on defense. 

“Our game plan was to play with a lot of energy on the defensive end,” said Buzz Peterson, head coach of UNCW. “I thought it was an outstanding effort to hold Northeastern to their season low of 45 points.”

In a game dictated by defense and missed shots, the biggest play of the night came from sophomore forward Dylan Sherwood.

With just over four minutes remaining in the game, Sherwood buried a contested three pointer to extend the Seahawks lead to six, making it a two-possession ballgame.

The shot by Sherwood ignited the crowd and proved to be the “nail in the coffin” for the Huskies. Northeastern scored only four points in the final five minutes of the game.  

“Dylan Sherwood’s three was a big, big lift for us,” Peterson said. “Just to see that kid smile brings a smile to my face. When he hit it, it looked like it was going out, then it kind of did the toilet bowl there. And that’s how Dylan lives his life a little bit; Just right there on the edge. I’m happy for that young man.”

Peterson wasn’t the only one smiling when Sherwood hit the shot. Sophomore guard Craig Ponder admits that he went a little crazy after he saw the ball go through the net.

“I couldn’t help it, man,” Ponder said. “I love when people hit ‘mug’ shots. And he hit that right in his mug. I got so excited.”

Coming into the season, Dylan Sherwood’s name wasn’t the one getting all the hype. But in the two recent victories, Sherwood has been the most valuable player for UNCW.

He had a career-high 14 points in Monday’s win over Towson, and did not disappoint in his follow-up performance.

“If you see this guy (Sherwood) in practice, he looks like an All-American,” Ponder said. “We just give him confidence and want him to keep shooting the ball.”

Ponder led the Seahawks in scoring with 11 points, but Sherwood added 10 points and five rebounds.  

As for the Huskies—they couldn’t buy a bucket, shooting a whopping 28.6% from the field.

The only player that was able to get in a rhythm for Northeastern was 6-6 sophomore shooting guard David Walker. Walker hit four three-pointers and finished the game with 18 points. Junior forward Scott Eatherton had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Huskies.

The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday night, but was rescheduled for Thursday night due to winter weather.

 “I’m so proud of these young men for competing and getting another one (win) back,” Peterson said. “We’re pretty good in postponed games. We’re going to work on getting some more.”

The Seahawks (8-19, 2-10) will look to make it three straight wins as they travel to James Madison (9-17, 4-8) Saturday night.

Northeastern (8-18, 5-7) will try and bounce back after the loss when they play College of Charleston (13-13, 5-6) Saturday night in South Carolina.