As was the case in the first CAA semifinal between No. 1 Hofstra and No. 5 William & Mary, No. 2 UNCW’s matchup with No. 6 Northeastern was a rematch of a semifinal in last year’s tournament. Kevin Keatts’ Seahawks held on to beat the Huskies 73-70 Sunday evening in Baltimore, avenging their loss in last year’s semifinals and advancing to the CAA tournament final for the first time since 2006.
Chris Flemmings led the way offensively for UNCW with 21 points to go along with five boards, and Denzel Ingram added 14 points before fouling out late. UNCW’s defense was the key, as they limited the Huskies to 39.1 percent shooting from the field. Quincy Ford led four Northeastern players in double figures with 21 points, but he did so on 5-for-15 shooting. David Walker and T.J. Williams added 16 apiece and Zach Stahl 11 while also grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
Next up for UNCW will be No. 1 Hofstra in Monday’s CAA title game, which begins at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on NBCSN. The two teams split their two regular season meetings, with UNCW winning at Hofstra by three February 4 and the Pride returning the favor with a 70-69 win in Wilmington three weeks later.