Richmond, VA. | Keith Rendleman smirked slightly when he was asked if he had ever been held without a rebound in his basketball career. The UNC Wilmington men’s basketball star earned All-CAA First Team honors because of his tenacious play that warrants lots and lots of rebounds. Yet, the bruising defensive style of Drexel University’s Daryl McCoy kept him off the glass entirely en route to the Dragons’ 59-47 victory in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament.

Rendleman’s smirk wasn’t the product of happy thoughts. He wasn’t pleased. It could have been nervousness that sparked the smile. More than likely, it sounded as ludicrous as it seemed for a player that averaged over 10 rebounds per game this season. On a team without many consistencies, Rendleman’s double-double averages were nearly a sure thing.

“No, this is probably the first game I’ve ever had like that,” Rendleman said. “When a shot went up, they definitely found where I was.”

UNCW coach Buzz Peterson was just as disbelieving of Rendleman’s 34 minutes without a rebound. “I never thought I’d look down at the stat sheet, and I’d see zero rebounds,” Peterson said. “You have to give Drexel credit for that, just making it difficult on him. McCoy is big, (Dartaye) Ruffin is big and (Samme) Givens—they got the weight and size in there to push you out.”

Instead of Rendleman corralling everything that came off the rim, the Dragons secured the rebounding margin, 23-13 in the second half to pull away from the Seahawks, who only trailed by seven at halftime. Drexel grabbed as many offensive rebounds as UNCW did on the defensive end (8), leading to 12 second-chance points and 18 total.

“I think it’s them getting second and third opportunities,” Peterson said of the turning point. “When you’re out there playing defense against a team like Drexel who isn’t going to turn it over much, and then all of the sudden when you give them another chance at a rebound, that just kinda depletes you a little bit.”

Peterson dispersed his frontcourt playing time between Rendleman, Cedrick Williams and Shane Reybold, which was the primary reason why the Seahawks were playing Saturday. No combination could stop their counterpart big men, though. McCoy outweighs Rendleman by 57 pounds.

“Everybody talks about height; I think it’s around those hips,” Peterson said. “It’s the weight in there that’s the big difference. You can ask (Rendleman).”

Drexel’s postgame conference was less talkative, and the Dragons acted as though Rendleman’s rebounding absence was an everyday occurrence. “I was just doing what I’m told,” McCoy said, unambiguously.

His coach, CAA Coach of the Year Bruiser Flint, was brief too. “Daryl does this all year,” Flint said.

Sophomore wingman Donte Morales led the Seahawks with 13 points and nine rebounds. Fellow sophomore Tanner Milson added 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the three-point line. Rendleman had 10 points.

Although UNCW exits Richmond without a conference title for the sixth consecutive year, the Seahawks’ first-round win earned them respect in the league. “Nobody thought UNCW was going to beat James Madison,” Flint said, “but actually, they beat them pretty good.”

Peterson has the stinging feeling that the Seahawks could have done more this season but is accepting of their progress. “The way they came into this tournament, the way they competed, I’m very proud of that,” he said. “I wish we could have done that all year a little bit more. I blame myself for not getting them up for every single game like it’s do or die.

“They came here yesterday and did something a UNCW team hadn’t done in a while: win a conference tournament game and then we competed against a very good Drexel team. I’m glad we ended up on a positive note.”