NASSAU, The Bahamas – A key 7-0 run midway through the second half gave UNC Wilmington the game’s first double-digit lead, and the back-breaking swing pushed the Seahawks to a 68-54 win over Missouri State here Friday in the opening round of the Baha Mar Basketball Nassau Championship.The Bears (2-2) held a share of the lead all but one minute of the first half but could only convert seven field goals over the game’s final 20 minutes to let their early advantage slip away. Still, MoState trimmed an 11-point deficit down to six with 3 minutes, 11 seconds remaining after a pair of technical free throws by Bryan Trimble Jr. made it a 59-53 contest.But UNCW (3-3) closed out the game on a 9-1 run, getting a back-breaking three by Donovan Newby that gave his team its biggest lead of the night, 66-53, with 1:43 to play.Trazarien White led UNCW with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Jamari Thomas added 13 points, and Newby scored 11.Kendle Moore was Missouri State’s top scorer with 12 points, while Dawson Carper added 10 points off the bench.Donovan Clay led the Bears in rebounds (6) and assists (3), while Chance Moore finished with 7 points and 6 boards.On a tough shooting day, the Bears couldn’t find their touch from most areas, finishing just 2-of-19 (.105) from 3-point range, 18-for-34 (.529) from the foul line and 17-of-45 (.378) overall from the field. Despite the difficult shooting metrics, the Bears out-rebounded UNCW by a 35-34 margin, allowing just six second-chance points.Missouri State trailed 29-28 at the intermission, however its deficit grew to seven before the first media timeout. But coming out of the first break of the second half, Trimble drained a three, and Kendle Moore’s running one-hander with just under 15 minutes to go made it a two-point game.Midway through the final period, Nick Farrar’s jumper, Newby’s three, and Shykeim Phillips’ fast-break bucket capped a 7-0 run by UNCW, giving coach Takayo Siddle’s a 54-43 led with just over nine minutes to go.In the opening half, the Bears held an eight-point advantage midway through the stanza but after Kendle Moore’s transition layup gave MSU a 15-7 lead, MSU managed just two field goals over a nine-minute stretch. A corner three from Kendle with five seconds left in the half trimmed UNCW’s lead to one at the break.With the loss, Missouri State matches up with Ball State (3-2) in the consolation round opener on Saturday at 11 a.m. (Central).
