The UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team takes a brief break from its road-heavy early season schedule Wednesday night when the Seahawks entertain defending Mid-American Conference champion Toledo at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks, 3-2, battle the Rockets, 1-4, in a 7 p.m. tip-off before taking off again this weekend for their Colonial Athletic Association opener at Hofstra. Coach Benny Moss and his club plays six of its first eight games in 2007-08 away from home.

“It’s really good to have a home game,” Moss said following Tuesday’s practice. “The eight days on the road were good for team building and family unity, but it’s also good to be back at Trask Coliseum with our home fans.

“We hope to continue to build on that momentum and play well in front of our home crowd.”

UNCW returned to the Port City in the wee hours Sunday from its eight-day, four-game jaunt through the Upper Midwest. The Seahawks dropped their first two games of the trek at Illinois State and Indiana before bouncing back with a pair of victories over Longwood and Coppin State.

Moss said his club rounded into shape the last two outings after inconsistent play against the Redbirds and Hoosiers.

“In the last two games, we had attention to detail at both ends of the floor,” he said. “We executed our offensive and defensive game plans. We trusted our defensive foundation and forced teams to score against us in the half-court. We shared the ball offensively and made the extra pass for a better than average shot.”

Toledo knows all about being on the road. The Rockets and veteran skipper Stan Joplin are playing the fourth game in a six-game road swing that has already resulted in three losses. Atlantic 10 favorite Rhode Island crushed UT, 83-57, last Saturday in Kingston, R.I.

Moss said, “Toledo is historically one of the better teams in the MAC. We remember how tough our game was up there last year. They’ve already played a tremendous schedule, so they’ll come in ready to play.”

The Rockets nipped the Seahawks, 77-74, on Dec. 16, 2006, at Savage Hall in Toledo and went on to win the MAC title and earn the league’s subsequent NCAA berth. Tyrone Kent collected career highs of 16 points and seven rebounds to offset UNCW’s Vladimir Kuljanin, who set a Savage Hall record with 11-of-11 from the floor.

“Toledo is very well coached. They lost close games to Dayton and Vanderbilt and have beaten Missouri State. We know it will be a tough game all the way around.”

Kent, a 6-5, 210-pound junior shooting guard, leads the Rockets this season with 18.6 points per game and backcourt mate Jonathan Amos brings in a 12.8 ppg clip. UT has dropped 10 consecutive non-conference road games entering the contest.

The Seahawks are the epitome of balance, with four starters in double figures and another player close to those numbers. Kuljanin (16.2 ppg), senior forward Todd Hendley (16.2 ppg), senior guard T.J. Carter (15.2 ppg) and senior guard Daniel Fountain (12.0 ppg) are complemented by freshman point guard Chad Tomko (8.4 ppg).

Tomko was named the CAA’s Rookie-of-the-Week after averaging 12.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in UNCW’s three games last week. The Charlotte, N.C., native pumped in a career-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting in UNCW’s loss at eighth-ranked Indiana last Tuesday.

UNCW has played seven MAC opponents through the years, fashioning a 6-7 record against the Cleveland-based circuit.

Courtesy UNCW Sports Information