UE looks to rebound on Sunday against MTSUÂ
A three-pointer at the buzzer gave UNC Wilmington a 65-62 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Saturday at the Challenge in Music City at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
Leading the Purple Aces (2-3) was Ryan Taylor, who connected on 9 of his 18 attempts to tie for the game high with 18 points. Just behind him was Willie Wiley, who shot an efficient 7-of-11 en route to a career mark of 15 points. One night after registering 39 points, Jaylon Brown finished with 12. Ten of those came in the second half.
UNC Wilmington (4-1) was led by an 18-point effort from Chris Flemmings.
A quick 2-for-2 start from the floor saw Evansville take a 4-0 lead before the Seahawks matched it to knot the score at 4-4. They would later take their first lead of the night at 7-6.
With the score tied up at 12-12 with 12:19 remaining in the first stanza, freshman Dru Smith gave UE a 15-12 lead on an old fashioned three-point play. The Aces did not give up the lead over the remainder of the half. Two Duane Gibson free throws gave Evansville a 25-18 lead before a pair of triples got UNCW back within one.
Taylor, who scored 14 points in the first half, helped the Aces pad their lead at 32-29 heading into the locker room. He also matched his career mark with six rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play, being on the floor for the duration.
UNC Wilmington hit the first bucket of the second half before Dru Smith knocked down the first 3-pointer of his young college career to get the Aces on the board. After forcing a Seahawk miss, Willie Wiley matched his career-best with his 8th point of the night, giving UE a 37-31 lead.
Mired by foul trouble for most of the night, Jaylon Brown made his presence known, scoring nine in a row for the Purple Aces to give them a 48-38 lead inside of 12 minutes remaining. A pair of triples by the Seahawks got them right back in the contest and was the start of a 15-4 run that saw them take a 53-52 lead with 9:05 left in the contest. They drained four triples in the rally.
Five lead changes ensued before Wiley hit a free throw to give UE a 61-60 edge with under two minutes left. Another free throw gave the Aces a 2-point lead before UNC Wilmington tied it up on a runout following an Aces turnover. With 30 ticks left on the clock, UE called a time out. The ensuing play saw UNCW force another turnover, getting their turn with 5.7 seconds left. At the buzzer, Denzel Ingram hit the game-winning triple to give the Seahawks the win.
Middle Tennessee State will mark the final opponent of the weekend as the Aces will take them on in the tournament finale on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
