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ASHEVILLE, NC – UNC Wilmington was hot all game from the field as the Seahawks handed Eastern Illinois an 82-65 loss on the final day of the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge on Sunday afternoon in Asheville, NC.
EIU fell to 3-3 on the season after going 2-1 in the tournament. UNCW improved to 3-4 on the season and was also 2-1 in the tournament.
UNC Wilmington came out gunning in the first half as the Seahawks quickly jumped out to a double figure lead at 16-6 as Ty Gadsden knocked down a 3-pointer with 15:15 to play.Â
EIU cut into the first half lead with
Josiah Wallace connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers. The second 3-pointer came with 6:02 to play in the first half that cut UNCW's lead to 26-25. Wallace had 12 first half points and finished the game with 19.
The Seahawks then pulled away with a 12-0 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers by Gadsden as he was 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the opening half. Gadsden scored 16 of his 19 points for the game in the opening half.
UNCW led 45-32 at the half as the Seahawks shot 59 percent from the field in the first half and 56 percent for the game.Â
The Seahawks continued the same trend in the second half as UNCW had a pair of players finish with double-doubles. Devontae Cacok, the nation's leading rebounder had 17 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Kai Toews had ten points and 14 assists. UNCW won the battle on the glass with a 37-26 margin.
EIU made four shots in the final minutes of play to cut what had been a 26-point deficit in the second half down to 14 points in the final minute.Â
Ben Harvey added ten points off the bench for EIU.
EIU returns to action on Wednesday night hosting Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 pm in Lantz Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN+.