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.