SPRINGFIELD, MO. – Missouri State built a nine-point halftime lead and then turned back a late charge by visiting UNC Wilmington for a 73-66 non-conference men’s basketball victory over the Seahawks Wednesday night at the Hammons Student Center.

The Bears improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 lifetime against the Seahawks with the home win before 5,532 fans. The Seahawks had their four-game winning streak halted and carry a 5-3 record into a two-game homestand that begins Sunday with Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m.

Senior swing man Deven Mitchell was a one-man wrecking crew for the Bears, registering a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Shane Laurie came off the bench to pour in 15 of his 17 points in the second half as MSU connected on 5-of-9 from long distance down the stretch.

Senior guard T.J. Carter, pictured, paced the Seahawks with 17 points, but struggled from the field on 7-of-21 shooting and 2-of-8 behind the arc. Senior center Vladimir Kuljanin recorded his fourth double-double of the season and the 12th of his career with 15 points and 10 boards. Senior guard Daniel Fountain chipped in 15 points for the Seahawks, who bounced from a dismal shooting performance in the first half to wind up hitting 41.3 percent for the game.

Trailing 34-25 at halftime, the Seahawks chipped away at the deficit until Mitchell converted both ends of a bonus situation at the line to give the Bears their largest lead of the game, 60-46, with 5:27 left.

But UNCW, behind Fountain and senior forward Todd Hendley, scored nine unanswered points to slice the deficit to 61-57. Hendley scored two baskets from close range and Fountain’s triple from the left side with 2:11 remaining brought the Seahawks within four points.

Carter then banked in a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to trim the lead to 67-64, but Mitchell canned two more free throws three seconds later and Laurie used a conventional three-point play with 11 ticks left to stall the rally.

MSU took advantage of UNCW’s cold shooting to create its nine-point bulge at halftime. The Seahawks shot just 29.0 percent over the first 20 minutes to dig themselves a big hole early.

After MSU scored the first five minutes of the contest, Fountain and freshman forward Dominique Lacy helped the Seahawks grab a 17-11 edge. Lacy drained a pair of treys in the rally and Fountain’s runner on the right side gave UNCW a six-point advantage with 11:22 let in the period.

MSU closed out the half on a strong note, however, by outscoring the Seahawks 33-8 over the final 11 minutes. The Bears reeled off 10 consecutive points as part of a 16-3 run to create some breathing room. Mitchell did most of the damage when he scored seven of his 13 first-half points and his two free throws with 4:41 showing capped the run to give the Bears a 27-20 advantage.

Mitchell later scored on a steal and layup at the one-minute mark to put the Bears ahead comfortably at halftime, 34-25.

The Seahawks open their two-game homestand on Sunday against the Chanticleers before breaking for end-of-the-semester exams next week.

Post-Game Quotes
UNC Wilmington Vs. Missouri State
Dec. 5, 2007

UNCW Head Coach Benny Moss:

“Hat’s off to Missouri State. Give them all the credit. They were coming off a
tough loss at Arkansas and took the fight to us. They punched us, so to speak,
and we took a step back. We didn’t step up and meet the challenge.

“We can’t let teams come out and be more aggressive. We came out in the
second half and played the way we needed to play from the start. I was proud of
how we responded in the second half. We matched their aggressiveness and
speed and we didn’t do that in the first half.

“We were focused late in the game and our attention to detail was right.
Unfortunately, we missed some opportunities down the stretch where we left their
shooters open and they made us pay.

“T.J. (Carter) got the paint and just couldn’t make the shots. I’m fine with him
taking those shots. He just didn’t make them. He followed through a little better
through contact in the second half.

“Vlad (Kuljanin) is getting better every game and that’s on both ends of the floor.
He made Drew Richards take tough shots and did a very good job on their post
guys.”
COURTESY UNCW SPORTS INFORMATION