WILMINGTON, N.C. – George Washington held host UNC Wilmington to one field goal in a 14-minute span late in the second half to spoil the men’s basketball home opener for the Seahawks, 76-71, Sunday afternoon at Trask Coliseum.

The Colonials won their first outing of the year by erasing an 11-point deficit in the second half with a late flurry, silencing 3,079 home fans. The Seahawks fell to 0-2 following a season-opening loss at Appalachian State Friday night.

Sophomore guard Aaron Ware came off the bench to pace the Colonials with a game-high 16 points, including 13 during GW’s critical second-half surge. Freshman forward David Pellom and freshman guard Tim Johnson added 11 points apiece and sophomore guard Tony Taylor had 10 to give GW four in double figures.

Senior forward Montez Downey paced UNCW with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Junior point guard Chad Tomko added 13 and freshman forward Keith Rendleman collected 11 points and 16 rebounds for his first career double-double.

The Seahawks played without starting center John Fields, who was serving a one-game suspension after being hit with a flagrant foul during the closing seconds of Friday’s loss to Appalachian State.

In a matchup of two teams that battled in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the Colonials found themselves down early before staging a furious rally to hand the Seahawks their first home-opening loss since a 61-54 overtime defeat to Princeton on Nov. 21, 1998.

After building a 41-32 cushion at the break, UNCW still led, 49-38, when Tomko converted a three-point play with a steal, layup and free throw at 15:17 before GW made its move. Ware keyed an 11-2 stretch to help the Colonials pull within, 51-49, with 11:23 on the clock. Ware connected on a pair of free throws before Pellom’s tip-in off a missed free throw cut the deficit to just two points.

While the Seahawks were struggling from the field, GW kept the pressure on and finally regained the lead, 61-59, when senior forward Damian Hollis drained a jumper on the right wing at 5:18. Ahmad Grant’s 3-pointer from the right corner gave the Seahawks the edge again briefly, 62-61, but the Colonials strung together a decisive 12-point run to break away for good.

Five different players scored in the spurt, and a dunk by Jabari Edwards gave GW its largest lead of the game, 74-63, with 1:17 remaining.

In the opening period, Downey poured in 11 of UNCW’s first 21 points as the Seahawks jumped out to a quick lead and went into the lockerroom with a nine-point advantage. Downey drained three triples and added a layup along the right baseline for a 23-10 lead at 11:43 of the first period.

GW chopped the lead to six points, 25-19, by holding the Seahawks scoreless over a six-minute stretch. Lasan Kromah’s conventional three-point play with 6:29 left in the first half helped the Colonials climb within six points.

But UNCW closed out the half with an 11-5 run, capped by Rendleman’s second chance tip of his own miss with one second remaining that gave the Seahawks a nine-point advantage at intermission.

The game was called closely by officials, who whistled the two teams for a combined 60 personal fouls. GW went 20-for-44 at the charity stripe for 48.2 percent, while UNCW managed just 17-for-29 for 58.6 percent.

The Seahawks return to action Thursday with a matchup against Penn State in the first-round of the Charleston Classic at Carolina First Arena. The Colonials visit Boston University on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

GAME NOTES: GW scored 44 points in the paint and had 16 second-chance points in the game…UNCW had 20 turnovers, including five each by starters Johnny Wolf and Dominique Lacy…The Colonials shot 57.1 percent during their second-half rally…UNCW attempted 21 more 3-pointers than GW…Freshman forward Keith Rendleman pulled down seven offensive rebounds for UNCW…GW outscored UNCW, 44-30, after intermission…GW won the battle of the boards by a slim 42-38 margin.

-Courtesy UNCW