I’ve been sitting at this desk for the past hour, crunching numbers, trying to make some sense of exactly what is going on with the UNCW men’s basketball team. And an hour later, I’m pretty much where I started. In fact, I may be more confused now.

After center Vlad Kuljanin dominated the College of Charleston for 25 points and 18 rebounds in the season opener, it seemed like pounding it inside to the big man would be the recipe for success.

Not so much, actually. The Seahawks are 2-5 when he attempts 10 or more field goals, which doesn’t make any sense because he is shooting just over 62 percent on the season.

On the flip side, UNCW is 7-3 when he takes nine or less shots, although the 7-3 mark looks larger than it actually is because three of the victories came against Longwood, Coppin State and North Carolina Central.

Kuljanin has dropped in 15 points or more four times this season, each time in a victory.

Another fact that the stats pointed out is that T.J. Carter needs to make 3-pointers for this team to be successful. The Seahawks are 1-5 when he doesn’t make at least one 3-pointer. Ironically, UNCW is 6-0 when he makes just one trey, but just 2-3 when he makes more than one.

One thing is for certain — when Carter has a big night of 20 or more points, the Sehawks are 5-0.

As noted in last Thursday’s win over Hofstra, it’s quite obvious that Todd Hendley is the emotional leader of the team. His offensive efficiency has also had a good deal to do with the team’s success as well, as the Seahawks have gone 9-3 in games which Hendley shot 50 percent or better from the field.

Though he has yet to find his 3-point stroke this season (3 for 22), his mid-range game is almost automatic. Not counting his 3-point attempts, he’s 89 for 140 from the field for almost 64 percent.

Perhaps the most important number may be the number one. That’s the number  of times that Benny Moss has been ejected from a game this season. Moss, often calm and collected on the sideline, showed some fire when Daniel Fountain had his nose broken against VCU and was sent packing five minutes into the game.

Though referee Brian Kersey was a bit quick to hit Moss with his second technical, it may have been the best result. For the final 35 minutes of that game and the next 40 against Hofstra, Trask had back the hunger that was last seen during the 2006 NCAA Tournament season.

A couple of fans hoisted “Free Benny” signs as Moss tossed T-shirts into the student section before the game. For that one game, Moss was nothing more than everyone else in the stands – an observer. Somehow, that brought the fan base closer to the new coach.

With Moss out of sight, he wasn’t out of mind that Thursday night in Trask Coliseum. Todd Hendley said that before the game, Moss had one final message, in big, bold black letters – “FIGHT.”

And that’s exactly what Hendley and the rest of the Seahawks did that night, playing their most passionate game of the season. As Trask swelled into a fury into the final moments as Carter dueled with Antoine Agudio.

Some will say this team hasn’t found it’s identity yet. Whether to pound the rock down low or get out on the break and let the athletes go to work. Whether or not to drop back into a  zone or stick to man-to-man.

Maybe that identity is closer than some think – as fighters.

The offensive and defensive game plan don’t matter, but as long as the fight that Moss talked about is there, good things can happen.