NEXT GAME
MON 12/16
vs. Mercer (7PM)

CURRENT D1 RECORD 2-6
CURRENT PLACE IN STANDINGS

VIDEO STREAM
FloHoops
http://www.flosports.tv/caa

AUDIO FEED
95.9 FM The Breeze & WKXB 99.9 FM HD2
http://v6.player.abacast.net/6995

OPPONENTS AUDIO FEED
WNEX 100.9 FM The Creek
TuneIn App - http://tun.in/seoNF

LIVE STATS
http://UNCWstats.com



Mercer Bears
Record vs. D-I: 3-6
RPI: # 327

The Seahawks have a long wait until their final non-conference home game next Monday as they face the hapless Mercer Bears, losers of 4 straight games and 5 of their last 6. The Seahawks have slugged through a disappointing non-conference and need to come away with something positive in their final 2 tune-ups leading into CAA play.

Mercer's most recent victory, on Nov 23, was their most impressive, defeating UIC (3-6 vs D-I) in a true road contest, 72-68. Their other 2 wins have come against Kennesaw State and FGCU, whose combined record is 1-18 against D-I. They also managed to hang close with a tough Saint Bonaventure squad, losing 56-51 on Tuesday. Everything has trended negative as the calendar turned to December, including a neutral court loss to Holy Cross, 81-67, which is still the Crusaders' only win against D-I competition to this point.

At least on paper, there has been one bright spot for the Bears under first year coach Greg Gary, who spent the previous 8 seasons as an assistant at Purdue. Redshirt senior shooting guard Ethan Stair leads the team and is # 54 in the nation in scoring, at 19.0 ppg. He is shooting .409 (27-66) from 3 and also leads the team in rebounding, at 9.7 rpg. The Bears have relied heavily on the 5th-year senior, who is averaging a robust 37.0 mpg.

Joining Stair in the backcourt is 6-2 senior point guard Djordje Dimitrijevic. The Serbian is 2nd on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg), first in Assists (3.3 apg), first in steals (1.8 spg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). However, he's also turned the ball over at a team-leading rate (2.7 to/g).

The rest of the Bears' lineup has been suspect, especially with senior guard Ross Cummings on the shelf with an injury, with no update on his return. Cummings was the leading scorer for the Bears in 2018-19, and had averaged 11.7 ppg in the 3 contests he appeared in. With Cummings out, a true 3rd scoring option hasn't yet emerged. The best bet to grow into that role is 6-6 freshman forward James Glisson III, who was thrust into the starting role with Cummings out. He's performed admirably, with 8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and a .528 FG % in the post.

Rounding out the starting 5 are 6-3 sophomore guard Daniel Love and 6-11 redshirt junior forward/center Maciej Bender. Love has 6 starts and 19.3 minutes per contest to his credit, though he hasn't been a big offensive factor thus far (5.4 ppg, 2.3 apg, 3.5 rpg). Bender, a transfer from West Virginia, is averaging 6.0 ppg and 4.1 rpg in his 15.0 minutes of action per contest.

Off the bench, the 6th man has been 6-6 redshirt freshman forward Patrick Urey. The Baylor transfer has averaged 18.5 minutes per game but only 1.9 ppg and 2.7 rpg. 5 other players have averaged over 10 mpg as Coach Gary looks to find the right combinations and rotations. Familiar face Jeff Gary, UNCW transfer and nephew of the Mercer head coach, will be eligible to play in 2020-21.

Despite playing a fairly weak non-conference schedule, Mercer has allowed 76.7 points per game, which ranks # 315 out of 350 D-I schools nationally. The Bears also average 14.8 turnovers per contest and have had 37 shots blocked compared to 21 that they've turned aside on defense. The only positive has been rebounding, where the Bears have outrebounded opponents 37.0 to 32.4.

The long wait for a game ends for both teams tomorrow. As Proff mentioned, this is a Pick Em game per Vegas.

https://uncwsports.com/news/2019/12/15/s...trask.aspx



Seahawks Welcome Bears To Trask

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's basketball team concludes its pre-holiday home schedule with a 7 p.m. tip Monday night against Mercer's Bears.

The Seahawks, 5-6, face the Bears, 4-6, for the first time in 42 years at Trask Coliseum. Mercer, which last played in Wilmington on Dec. 17, 1977, rallied for a 77-73 decision last December when the series renewed in Macon, Ga.

"Mercer's off to a decent start…they are very physical," said C.B. McGrath, UNCW's third-year head coach. "Ethan Stair's had a very good start to his senior season, so he's going to be a tough matchup for us. They have a new coach and they're doing some nice things on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor."

After fashioning a 5-4 ledger in November, the Seahawks are looking to break into the winning column in December following losses to Stanford and Charlotte. Monday's tilt is the final home appearance for the Seahawks until a Jan. 2, 2020, matchup with CAA foe James Madison.

With the return of junior guard Ty Gadsden, the Seahawks now feature three players in double figures. Sophomore guard Jaylen Sims continues to lead the club with 14.2 ppg, followed by Marten Linssen at 10.2 ppg and Gadsden at 11.0 ppg.

Monday marks the eighth meeting between the two schools. UNCW owns a slim 4-3 advantage, but the Bears snapped a three-game losing streak to the Seahawks with last year's decision at Hawkins Arena.

In the last game played between the two teams at Trask Coliseum, high-scoring guard Denny Fields poured in 28 points on 14-for-19 shooting as the Seahawks sizzled from the floor in an 80-60 romp over the Bears in December of 1977. UNCW shot 66.7 percent and forced 22 turnovers in the lopsided win.

Mercer brings a four-game losing streak to the Port City. The Bears have averaged only 61.3 in the skid and came out on the short end of a 73-61 score with Georgia State on Dec. 7 in their last outing. Stair, a 6-4, 205-pound redshirt senior guard, tops the club with 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds each time on the floor.

The Seahawks stand 4-2 at home this year after falling, 76-57, to Charlotte's 49ers on Dec. 7. Charlotte bolted out to a big lead and UNCW played catch-up the rest of the way before losing by 19 points to the 49ers.

UNCW, under .500 for the first time this season, has dropped successive games to Stanford, Boise State and Charlotte by 19.3 ppg. In that span, the team is shooting 39.5 percent and averaging 56.7 ppg. Opponents, meanwhile, are connecting on 52.7 percent and collecting 76.0 ppg.

The game will be carried over the air locally on FM radio station 95.9 The Breeze, with veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer providing the call. An audio feed of the broadcast may be accessed for free on http://www.959thebreeze.com. Video of the game will be featured on @FloSports, the CAA's video streaming partner, for a subscription fee.

Monday's matchup with Mercer also continues a month-long 'Sock Exchange' initiative by the Seahawks. Fans donating a pair of new closed-toed youth shoes at any men's or women's basketball home game in December will receive a pair of navy logo socks.

Seahawk fans contributed more than 300 pairs of shoes last year and they were distributed to three area elementary schools for students in need. Shoes may be donated at the remaining games this month: MBB vs. Mercer (Dec. 16) and WBB vs. Winthrop (Dec. 17).

Following Monday's clash with the Bears, the Seahawks close out their pre-holiday and non-conference slate by visiting Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt on Saturday, Dec. 21, in an 8 p.m. ET start at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn. Dedicated to the men and women who served in World War II, the 14,326-seat arena was built in 1952 and is the oldest active basketball venue in the SEC.

Seahawk Storylines

In last year's installment in the series, newcomer Luke Hamilton came off the bench to score all 10 of his points in the second half, including the go-head basket with 25.2 seconds remaining, to help the Bears surge past the Seahawks.

Seahawk Associate Head Coach Doug Esleeck is very familiar with the opponents. He served on the Mercer staff for seven seasons before moving to Wilmington, helping MU rack up five postseason appearances.

The Seahawks stand an even 21-21 against Southern Conference opponents through the years. UNCW has played eight of the 10 members of the league, but has dropped five in a row to SoCon opponents.

The game is only the third between the CAA and SoCon in 2019-20.

The Seahawks and Bears are playing for the fourth time during the month of December. UNCW has won two of the three meetings in the final calendar month of the year.

Mercer head coach Greg Gary has a connection to UNCW. Gary's brother, Mark, started 48-of-116 games for the Seahawks from 1984-88 and scored 663 points with 174 rebounds and 191 assists.

Rebounding could be one of the keys in the contest. Opponents have outrebounded the Seahawks in three straight outings – pulling down 33 boards in each of the three games – and won the battle of the boards seven times in 2019-20.

I forgot we lost to this team last season. Ugh.

(12-16-2019 10:29 AM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  https://uncwsports.com/news/2019/12/15/s...trask.aspx



Seahawks Welcome Bears To Trask

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's basketball team concludes its pre-holiday home schedule with a 7 p.m. tip Monday night against Mercer's Bears.

The Seahawks, 5-6, face the Bears, 4-6, for the first time in 42 years at Trask Coliseum. Mercer, which last played in Wilmington on Dec. 17, 1977, rallied for a 77-73 decision last December when the series renewed in Macon, Ga.

"Mercer's off to a decent start…they are very physical," said C.B. McGrath, UNCW's third-year head coach. "Ethan Stair's had a very good start to his senior season, so he's going to be a tough matchup for us. They have a new coach and they're doing some nice things on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor."

After fashioning a 5-4 ledger in November, the Seahawks are looking to break into the winning column in December following losses to Stanford and Charlotte. Monday's tilt is the final home appearance for the Seahawks until a Jan. 2, 2020, matchup with CAA foe James Madison.

With the return of junior guard Ty Gadsden, the Seahawks now feature three players in double figures. Sophomore guard Jaylen Sims continues to lead the club with 14.2 ppg, followed by Marten Linssen at 10.2 ppg and Gadsden at 11.0 ppg.

Monday marks the eighth meeting between the two schools. UNCW owns a slim 4-3 advantage, but the Bears snapped a three-game losing streak to the Seahawks with last year's decision at Hawkins Arena.

In the last game played between the two teams at Trask Coliseum, high-scoring guard Denny Fields poured in 28 points on 14-for-19 shooting as the Seahawks sizzled from the floor in an 80-60 romp over the Bears in December of 1977. UNCW shot 66.7 percent and forced 22 turnovers in the lopsided win.

Mercer brings a four-game losing streak to the Port City. The Bears have averaged only 61.3 in the skid and came out on the short end of a 73-61 score with Georgia State on Dec. 7 in their last outing. Stair, a 6-4, 205-pound redshirt senior guard, tops the club with 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds each time on the floor.

The Seahawks stand 4-2 at home this year after falling, 76-57, to Charlotte's 49ers on Dec. 7. Charlotte bolted out to a big lead and UNCW played catch-up the rest of the way before losing by 19 points to the 49ers.

UNCW, under .500 for the first time this season, has dropped successive games to Stanford, Boise State and Charlotte by 19.3 ppg. In that span, the team is shooting 39.5 percent and averaging 56.7 ppg. Opponents, meanwhile, are connecting on 52.7 percent and collecting 76.0 ppg.

The game will be carried over the air locally on FM radio station 95.9 The Breeze, with veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Vaccaro and color analyst Marty Feurer providing the call. An audio feed of the broadcast may be accessed for free on http://www.959thebreeze.com. Video of the game will be featured on @FloSports, the CAA's video streaming partner, for a subscription fee.

Monday's matchup with Mercer also continues a month-long 'Sock Exchange' initiative by the Seahawks. Fans donating a pair of new closed-toed youth shoes at any men's or women's basketball home game in December will receive a pair of navy logo socks.

Seahawk fans contributed more than 300 pairs of shoes last year and they were distributed to three area elementary schools for students in need. Shoes may be donated at the remaining games this month: MBB vs. Mercer (Dec. 16) and WBB vs. Winthrop (Dec. 17).

Following Monday's clash with the Bears, the Seahawks close out their pre-holiday and non-conference slate by visiting Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt on Saturday, Dec. 21, in an 8 p.m. ET start at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn. Dedicated to the men and women who served in World War II, the 14,326-seat arena was built in 1952 and is the oldest active basketball venue in the SEC.

Seahawk Storylines

In last year's installment in the series, newcomer Luke Hamilton came off the bench to score all 10 of his points in the second half, including the go-head basket with 25.2 seconds remaining, to help the Bears surge past the Seahawks.

Seahawk Associate Head Coach Doug Esleeck is very familiar with the opponents. He served on the Mercer staff for seven seasons before moving to Wilmington, helping MU rack up five postseason appearances.

The Seahawks stand an even 21-21 against Southern Conference opponents through the years. UNCW has played eight of the 10 members of the league, but has dropped five in a row to SoCon opponents.

The game is only the third between the CAA and SoCon in 2019-20.

The Seahawks and Bears are playing for the fourth time during the month of December. UNCW has won two of the three meetings in the final calendar month of the year.

Mercer head coach Greg Gary has a connection to UNCW. Gary's brother, Mark, started 48-of-116 games for the Seahawks from 1984-88 and scored 663 points with 174 rebounds and 191 assists.

Rebounding could be one of the keys in the contest. Opponents have outrebounded the Seahawks in three straight outings – pulling down 33 boards in each of the three games – and won the battle of the boards seven times in 2019-20.

Did Joe Browning really write this article? Just asking because he knows Denny was not a guard. He was a deadly scorer. But he also got tossed a couple times for spitting on opposing players. He was fun to watch. Hard to believe he passed away 6 years ago.

(12-16-2019 12:31 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  Did Joe Browning really write this article? Just asking because he knows Denny was not a guard. He was a deadly scorer. But he also got tossed a couple times for spitting on opposing players. He was fun to watch. Hard to believe he passed away 6 years ago.

I did not appreciate at the time how much UNCW accomplished during Mel Gibson's first three DI seasons . What they did was HARD, and Denny Fields was really fun to watch.

This game is a must win in my book.

It’s time to put together all of the “lessons learned” from the rest of the OOC slate and go into conference play on a high note and get to business.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

(12-16-2019 06:38 PM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  This game is a must win in my book.

Hard to argue with you.

No Gadsden tonite? From bad to worse goes our luck. :(

And he may be out for the next couple of games - -

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I know why, but interesting to see Jeff Gary playing for Mercer.

Our offensive movement is awful

Our offense looks good when we go to Linssen in the post. When he is out we just jack up shots.

We should drive and kick for the three pointer and we really don't

So here's the thing. Mercer is a low end SoCon school and we don't look any better than they do What's the point of being in the CAA when SoCon schools are equal or better than we are? Furman, UNCG, Wofford, ETSU. I don't even think we have a winning record against SoCon schools overall

(12-16-2019 07:40 PM)82hawk Wrote:  So here's the thing. Mercer is a low end SoCon school and we don't look any better than they do What's the point of being in the CAA when SoCon schools are equal or better than we are? Furman, UNCG, Wofford, ETSU. I don't even think we have a winning record against SoCon schools overall

Actually, I think the thing is that we need to consistently play a lot better than we have been playing in order to be competitive in any DI league.

(12-16-2019 07:47 PM)70shawk Wrote:  

(12-16-2019 07:40 PM)82hawk Wrote:  So here's the thing. Mercer is a low end SoCon school and we don't look any better than they do What's the point of being in the CAA when SoCon schools are equal or better than we are? Furman, UNCG, Wofford, ETSU. I don't even think we have a winning record against SoCon schools overall

Actually, I think the thing is that we need to consistently play a lot better than we have been playing in order to be competitive in any DI league.

Welp, after getting hyped about the possibility of a full court press, guess not.

Sigh....

I feel like an NFL team tanking to get a good draft pick. If it takes beating after beating to get a new coach, maybe it's worth it.

(12-16-2019 08:15 PM)82hawk Wrote:  I feel like an NFL team tanking to get a good draft pick. If it takes beating after beating to get a new coach, maybe it's worth it.

It would be interesting to know what's going on inside Jimmy Bass's mind right now.