Keith Rendleman prefers the normal 7 p.m. tip-offs. Saturday night, the UNC Wilmington men’s basketball game against Towson was moved to a 9 p.m. start because it was a televised event.

“To me, it was a really long day,” Rendleman said. He didn’t show it, though. The 6-foot-7 sophomore finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs, as the Seahawks (10-9, 4-4 CAA) beat the Tigers, 66-60.

When the game was over, UNCW coach Buzz Peterson led his players through the packed student section and students were able to high-five the team they had just cheered on for hours.

“This student body here is unbelievable,” Peterson said. “They help us win ball games, they really do.”

Rendleman also credited the fans for the victory and for what he described as his best game. “I felt like I had a little more energy because of the crowd,” he said.

Towson (4-14, 0-8) did its best to keep the students and fans in Trask Coliseum out of the game, though. The Tigers shot 63.6% in the first half and entered intermission with a 34-33 advantage.

Rendleman had 15 points and 12 rebounds by halftime, while Towson only had 10 total rebounds. Tigers coach Pat Kennedy said of Rendleman, “He’s a very tough block out because he’s so quick.”

While the sophomore may have been stealing the show, the Tigers were holding senior guard Chad Tomko in check. The Seahawks’ leading scorer was battling an illness and only managed four points on 1-5 shooting in the first half. “I just couldn’t get into it,” Tomko said. “My hands were cold. I kept trying to get them warm the whole game.”

However, the second half was a different story. Tomko poured in 12 points and added two crucial steals in consecutive possessions with less than three minutes remaining.

“In the last two and a half minutes, he just took over the basketball game,” Kennedy said. “If you looked into his eyes, you knew exactly what he was doing. He was sizing up the play to make it, to put his team in a position to win.”