Daniel Fountain glides in for the lay-up and two of his twenty points.  

Photos: Eric Bartsch

   UNCW was red hot before two tough road losses set them back, but the friendly confines of Trask Coliseum and the Homecoming crowd helped the Seahawks to a 99-85 win over James Madison in Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball action Saturday night.

   After falling behind 5-2, UNCW went on a 13-0 run and took a ten point lead, 15-5, with 13:13 left in the first half.  The lead grew to as many as fifteen in the first half, but with his team down 28-16, JMU’s junior guard Abdulai Jalloh, who torched the Seahawks for 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes, ignited a 17-5 run which tied the game at the 3:02 mark. 

   UNCW closed out the half with Daniel Fountain’s third triple in four attempts for a 42-39 edge at the break as both teams shot 16-28 (57%).

   The story of the second half was the continued growth and maturity of freshman point guard Chad Tomko.  With UNCW clinging to a 48-45 edge with 18 minutes remaining, Tomko provided the spark that sent the Seahawks to their ninth home win in 11 tries this season. He made a steal and layup and then added a trifecta on the left wing to push the lead to 53-45 and then extended the margin to 57-47 on a jumper in the paint at 14:56, as he scored seven consecutive points in the critical juncture.  

   Tomko set a new career high with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half.  He easily surpassed his previous high of 17 points, which he scored on Nov. 20 at Indiana.   Tomko ended the night 8–for-12 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range and said after the game that his confidence level continues to rise.

   The lead ballooned to as many as 17 points when TJ Carter sank a pair of free throws with 9:13 left to give the Seahawks a 74-57 bulge. The Dukes made a late rally, slicing the deficit to eight points on a layup by Jalloh with 6:42 left, but UNCW pulled away for the easy victory. 

   Coach  Moss told his guys whoever defended better in the second half would probably win the game.  UNCW held JMU to 40% from the floor in the game’s final twenty minutes, while the Dukes couldn’t stop the Seahawks who canned 18 of 27 second half attempts (66.7%). “It was a huge win to get our confidence back,” freshman  forward Dominique Lacy said after going 3-4 from the floor and chipping in with eight points.

   The point total was a season high eclipsing the 98 points scored by UNCW in its season opener on Nov. 10 against the College of Charleston.  However, it was one point short of the century mark, which would have earned everyone a $1 hamburger from 2 Guys Grill.  Sitting at 99 points with time running out and the crowd booing, Tomko smiled as he walked the ball up the court to kill the clock fully realizing that sportsmanship was more important than a burger.  After all, they may have to see these guys in the CAA tournament and as head coach Benny Moss explained, “we didn’t want to give them any bulletin board material.”  UNCW lost to JMU 93-74 in their first meeting back on January 12 and would like to avoid it happening again.

Seniors T.J. Carter, right, and Daniel Fountain each added 20 points for the Seahawks, while senior Vladimir Kuljanin had 15 points, on 7-7 shooting from the floor, and a team-high seven rebounds.

   Jalloh poured in a career-best 37 points to pace the Dukes, including 18 in the first half. His total was the highest in Trask Coliseum history, surpassing the 36 points scored by East Carolina’s Blue Edwards on Jan. 28, 1989. It also was the most points ever scored against UNC Wilmington.  Freshman Heiden Ratner scored 16 points and junior Juwann James added 15 for JMU.

   The Seahawks now sit in alone in fourth place and play the two teams ahead of them that are tied for second in their next two contests.  How big are these two games?  With wins over William and Mary at home on Wednesday and at George Mason on Saturday, UNCW would only trail VCU in the conference standings.  With two losses, it is quite feasible they could slip to seventh place.

   UNCW lost a tough road game at William and Mary, 70-66, on February 2 in their first match up, and beat George Mason at home 61-58 on January 26.  Coach Moss said the key to beating William and Mary, 9-4 in the CAA, would be defending the three point shot.  He explained that W&M runs the Princeton offense; they use all five guys to space the floor with no post presence, looking for backdoor layups and three pointers.  W&M is coming off a 51-42 loss at Northeastern on Saturday.  Sweeping the season series with GMU will be no easy task.  To do so, the Seahawks will have to do what no other team in the CAA has done - beat GMU at home.  

- Jesse Jones: Cape Fear Sports Report