No matter how hard a team plays, no matter the situation, sometimes it’s the basics that are key to success. The UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team found that out in losing fashion Wednesday night, when the Seahawks dropped their final home game to Virginia Commonwealth, 63-59.

With possession of the ball with five seconds to go and down by two, sophomore Tanner Milson tried to pass the ball inbounds to freshman Freddie Jackson, only to have VCU junior guard Darius Theus tip the ball and sophomore Rob Brandenberg come up with the steal. Brandenberg was fouled immediately after, and made both his free throws to seal the final score.

“Coach (Buzz Peterson) drew up a great play,” said Milson. “It was something we did earlier in the half. Something we did earlier in the half. I made an absolutely terrible pass. It can’t happen, especially when we’re playing that type of team. We got a chance to make some noise right there and, in that moment in time, I just made a bad decision.”

The Rams (24-6, 14-3 CAA) came into the game as favorites after their last game against the Seahawks (9-19, 5-12) ended in a 23-point VCU blowout win. The Rams were able to use their trademark press defense and forced UNCW to commit a season-high 28 turnovers in that game.

While the Seahawks still committed 19 turnovers, it was their defense that appeared to stifle the VCU in this matchup. The Rams finished the game shooting just 37 percent, including a 5-of-23 mark from behind the arc. This included Ram’s leading scorer Bradford Burgess finishing 1-of-7 from three and 1-for-12 in total field goals. This allowed UNCW the chance to stay in it on the squad’s senior night.

“The energy was there, the effort,” said Peterson. “I told our guys, sometimes when you come together, you make that effort to compete, you make that commitment with each other, you never know when that win will come.”

Keith Rendleman finished the game with his eighth double-double of the season for UNCW with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Down by eight with a little over two minutes to go, Rendleman provided the spark the Seahawks were looking for, reeling off seven straight points on his own to bring the team back to within one before Brandenberg had a pair of steals and free throws to end the game.

“Rendleman is just a beast. We gotta figure something out next time we play him,” said VCU head coach Shaka Smart. “He does it well against everybody in the game. He plays with great motor. That’s the number one thing I love in a big kid. His motor never shuts off. He’s always sealing and posting and if he misses the shot he goes after it.”

The Seahawks wrap up their regular season Saturday at Hofstra. “Whatever it takes, we’re going to get this thing turned around,” said Peterson. “We’re going to continue to work hard. We’ll eliminate some of those little mistakes, and then we’ll be able to compete towards the top end of this league.”