Photo: Benny Moss has the UNCW Seahawks on a two game winning streak and will have two consecutive home games this week in which they will look to extend their winning ways.

ATLANTA, Ga. – Senior center Vladimir Kuljanin keyed a second-half surge and finished with his third straight double-double and seventh of the season behind 16 points and 15 rebounds to power UNC Wilmington past Georgia State, 68-61, in a Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball game Saturday night at snow-draped GSU Sports Arena.

            The Seahawks, who held GSU to 21.7 percent shooting in the second period, won back-to-back games in the CAA for the first time under second-year coach Benny Moss and improved to 11-8 overall and 4-3 in the circuit. The Panthers fell to 4-13 and 1-6.

            Kuljanin, a 6-10, 265-pound senior from Toronto, continued his impressive play of late by dominating the Panthers inside after intermission. He scored 10 points and hauled down 12 rebounds in the second period as the Seahawks reversed a nine-rebound deficit at halftime to close with a 30-29 edge on the glass.

            Senior guard T.J. Carter paced UNCW’s four players in double figures with 17 points and added five assists. Kuljanin went 7-for-9 from the field and added a pair of free throws for his 16 points, senior guard Daniel Fountain chipped in 15 and senior forward Todd Hendley had 14.

            Junior guard Leonard Mendez led the Panthers with 22 points and five rebounds. Reserve guard Trae Goldston contributed 14 points and junior forward Rashad Chase had 10 points and seven rebounds.

            Trailing 40-37 at halftime, the Seahawks came out of the lockerroom quickly, scoring the first seven points behind two layups by Kuljanin wrapped around a trey by Fountain in the right corner to build a 44-40 edge with 16:50 remaining.

But Goldston answered with three 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch as UNCW’s 44-40 lead evaporated. Goldston’s third trey at 13:13 gave the Panthers their largest margin of the game, 52-45, at 13:33.

UNCW continued the see-saw game with a 9-0 run for a narrow 54-52 lead when Hendley fired in a 9-foot jumper with 8:04 left to put the Seahawks in front again.

After Mendez canned a triple from the top of the key with 6:49 showing to help the Panthers regain the lead, 54-52, the Seahawks went on a 6-0 mini-run and held the Panthers without a field goal the rest of way to pick up their second conference road victory of the season.

            GSU took a 40-37 lead into intermission after going 7-for-8 from long distance and dominating the glass. Mendez drained all four of his 3-point attempts en route to 14 first-half points and the Panthers outrebounded the Seahawks, 16-8, over the first 20 minutes, including 9-2 on the offensive side.

            After freshman guard Jihad Ali canned a triple on the right side to give the Panthers a 24-21 edge at 8:18, the Seahawks reeled off six straight points, capped by a steal and layup by Carter for a 27-24 lead with 6:39 left in the first period.

            GSU outscored UNCW, 14-4, over the next four minutes, however, to build a 38-31 advantage when Chase connected on a layup over Kuljanin at 3:33. The Seahawks scored the next six points to slice the deficit to 38-37 before Chase had a tip-in with 35 seconds left to hand the Panthers a 40-37 edge at intermission.

            The two teams put on a shooting exhibition at the charity stripe on the night. The Seahawks went 24-for-29 at the line, including 15-for-16 in the first half, and the Panthers finished 12-for-15 from the stripe.

            The Seahawks return to Trask Coliseum to open up a two-game homestand Wednesday when Northeastern visits the Port City for a 7 p.m. tip. The Panthers hit the road Wednesday in a 7 p.m. start at Towson.

            Game Notes: The Seahawks had 14 assists and 13 turnovers…Dominique Lacy’s three points represented the only offensive output from the bench…GSU went 4-for-11 behind the arc in the second half after connecting on 7-for-8 in the first period…UNCW made its first 15 free throws in the contest…UNCW snapped a two-game losing streak to GSU…Freshman point guard Chad Tomko did not commit a turnover in 29 minutes…UNCW improved to 3-6 on the road in 2007-08…Coach Benny Moss won his first matchup against new GSU coach Rod Barnes.  - Courtesy UNCW Sports Information