The UNC Wilmington men’s Club Basketball team had another successful tournament this past weekend. They went undefeated, beating Duke, Fayetteville State and Duke again in the championship game. Their strength was crashing the boards and capitalizing on missed shots from the other team. Overall, they had a good team performance with multiple players stepping up.

“We had great unity on our team,” Coach Blake Wood said. “We were talking on defense and playing as a whole with one common goal.”

UNCW played Duke for the first game at 10 a.m. Both teams were even on turnovers in the first half with five and UNCW only held the lead by two points before halftime 24-22. Then in the second half, UNCW cut down on their turnovers and ended up winning the game 52-45. Sophomore Josh Gregory was the best player of that game with 15 points, four rebounds, a block and a steal. He was five for seven at the free throw line.

“I just try to focus in on a task and try to stay focused on winning through my role in the game,” Gregory said. “I think I did alright. Probably could have scored a little better and made some more free throws, but I think I did pretty good defensively. I’ve been playing ever since I was four and I played varsity for my high school basketball team all four years, so it’s been a good journey.”

Altogether, UNCW went 18-25 which was 72 percent at the line. It’s safe to say that Duke’s foul trouble aided UNCW in the game, because they committed 17 fouls total and 11 of them coming in the second half.

After beating Duke, UNCW played Fayetteville State at 12 p.m. Although UNCW turned the ball over eight times in the first half, they stayed in the game, because FSU missed a bunch of shots and the Seahawks crashed the boards early. Leading the way was junior Dustin Newton with nine rebounds and junior Jay Fitch with eight by the end of the game. It was a tight game all the way to the end, but UNCW held on for a 56-53 win. Jay Fitch did a great job in the post, scoring a game-high 19 points. He also contributed with the eight rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. He was five for six at the free throw line.

“Biggest thing I’ve learned about playing in the post is patience,” Fitch said. “Post play is not when you get the ball, it’s before you get the ball. It’s a lot of footwork and being intelligent. I have a new-found respect for post players, because I was a guard all throughout high school. I gained about fifty pounds when I came to college, I’m hoping its muscle, and so I had to learn how to go down low and play the forward position.”

UNCW’s discipline allowed them to stay out of foul trouble and they had a great game at the free throw line going 15-20, which is 75 percent.

Since Duke beat Fayetteville State, they got the chance to play UNCW in the championship game. Unlike the first game, UNCW handled Duke pretty well.

“We learned a lot from that championship game with Duke because we beat this team fairly easily the first time,” Coach Wood said. “It was good to see our guys playing above them and not playing catch-up the whole game.”

The Seahawks only turned the ball over six times the entire game and they made more three pointers in this game than the first time they played Duke. The final score was 61-54 and the Seahawks were crowned champions of their own tournament. Two players tied for the most points with 16: Club Vice President Griffin Templeton and junior Dustin Newton. Newton was a player that played consistently well in all three games of the tournament. In three games, he had 27 points, 21 rebounds, six steals and three blocks. Coach Wood was impressed with what he saw out of his player.

“Dustin plays his heart out every single play,” Wood said. “He gives a 100 percent in every game he plays in. I was very impressed with him, because he never takes a play off.”

As for the team as a whole, they got better offensively after every game. They ended up averaging 56 points per game, but Coach Wood said they can still improve.

“We’re going to have some offense continuity next semester, something other than one-on-one pick and roll,” Wood said. “We need an offense that will be easier to understand and more efficient.”

Statistically, the Seahawks played better after every game to show that they weren’t affected by fatigue. Now they will have to hope that they can carry this momentum in the next semester. Their next home tournament will be in late March for their second annual Wilmington Invitational. Then on April 13^th, 14^thand15^th, they will play in the club basketball National Championship tournament at N.C. State. After a solid semester, the Seahawks are looking for even more great opportunities in the spring of 2013.