At the final buzzer, UNCW's Jordon Talley bent at the waist and buried his face in his hands. Dylan Sherwood dropped into a crouch nearby, head down. Across the court, Addison Spruill whacked the media table in frustration.
Saturday's 56-53 loss to William & Mary in front of the largest Trask Coliseum crowd of the season didn't provide the introduction to meaningful February basketball the Seahawks wanted. The Tribe claimed the Colonial Athletic Association lead after Talley's tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds clanged off the back rim.
Coach Kevin Keatts walked off the court disappointed his team couldn't muster a few more stops in the tense closing stretch and heartened to even be in such a first-place battle. The first-year coach hopes the defeat can serve as a teaching tool for a group not used to those stakes.
"The crowd was tremendous," Keatts said. "Honestly when you look back at it, it's the first time that I think Freddie Jackson and Cedrick (Williams) and those guys have played in that type of atmosphere here. I think for a while there we were a little bit nervous."
UNCW returns to Trask on Wednesday night, trying to keep pace in the CAA race against last-place College of Charleston. At 8-4, the Seahawks are a game behind the Tribe and tied with Northeastern in the standings. Three others have at least seven conference wins.
Keatts' squad, with six games left, probably has to win out to claim the top CAA tournament seed and a guaranteed postseason berth. It needs top-six finish to avoid playing on the first day in Baltimore.
On Saturday, UNCW missed an opportunity on its home floor. The low-scoring struggle featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. The Seahawks allowed the last four points, going scoreless over the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
The Seahawks have wasted halftime leads in three of their four losses, including both setbacks against the Tribe. The Seahawks blew a 20-point advantage in the first meeting.
Coach Tony Shaver called the latest victory "one of the best that I've been a part of at William & Mary." His team completed the season sweep, despite shooting 1-for-11 from 3-point range with 20 turnovers.
"We've just got to work on the small things," said UNCW's Addison Spruill, who averages 14 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. "There's a few blockouts that I missed, a few careless turnovers down the stretch that we had. I feel like if we can clean those up, we can be a lot better."
Now UNCW gets a potential trap game with Charleston in the second leg of a three-game home stand. The Seahawks have often been the ones looking to play spoiler at this point in the season. They'll try to get back on track before the Huskies visit Saturday for an important homecoming showdown.
The Cougars have struggled under first-year coach Earl Grant, but they upset William & Mary, 80-72, last week.
They also pushed UNCW to overtime in the first meeting. The Seahawks won 58-56 on Jan. 21, despite shooting a season-worst 25 percent.
Those results have made it easier for Keatts to keep his players focused on the task at hand this week. His Seahawks are 4-0 so far against the four CAA teams with losing records.
To be a serious contender, they'll need to keep winning these kind of games, too.
"We don't consider them a last-place team," Keatts said. "We consider them another very good CAA team. You can't consider them a last-place team when they just beat the team that you've lost to twice."
Saturday's 56-53 loss to William & Mary in front of the largest Trask Coliseum crowd of the season didn't provide the introduction to meaningful February basketball the Seahawks wanted. The Tribe claimed the Colonial Athletic Association lead after Talley's tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds clanged off the back rim.
Coach Kevin Keatts walked off the court disappointed his team couldn't muster a few more stops in the tense closing stretch and heartened to even be in such a first-place battle. The first-year coach hopes the defeat can serve as a teaching tool for a group not used to those stakes.
"The crowd was tremendous," Keatts said. "Honestly when you look back at it, it's the first time that I think Freddie Jackson and Cedrick (Williams) and those guys have played in that type of atmosphere here. I think for a while there we were a little bit nervous."
UNCW returns to Trask on Wednesday night, trying to keep pace in the CAA race against last-place College of Charleston. At 8-4, the Seahawks are a game behind the Tribe and tied with Northeastern in the standings. Three others have at least seven conference wins.
Keatts' squad, with six games left, probably has to win out to claim the top CAA tournament seed and a guaranteed postseason berth. It needs top-six finish to avoid playing on the first day in Baltimore.
On Saturday, UNCW missed an opportunity on its home floor. The low-scoring struggle featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. The Seahawks allowed the last four points, going scoreless over the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
The Seahawks have wasted halftime leads in three of their four losses, including both setbacks against the Tribe. The Seahawks blew a 20-point advantage in the first meeting.
Coach Tony Shaver called the latest victory "one of the best that I've been a part of at William & Mary." His team completed the season sweep, despite shooting 1-for-11 from 3-point range with 20 turnovers.
"We've just got to work on the small things," said UNCW's Addison Spruill, who averages 14 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. "There's a few blockouts that I missed, a few careless turnovers down the stretch that we had. I feel like if we can clean those up, we can be a lot better."
Now UNCW gets a potential trap game with Charleston in the second leg of a three-game home stand. The Seahawks have often been the ones looking to play spoiler at this point in the season. They'll try to get back on track before the Huskies visit Saturday for an important homecoming showdown.
The Cougars have struggled under first-year coach Earl Grant, but they upset William & Mary, 80-72, last week.
They also pushed UNCW to overtime in the first meeting. The Seahawks won 58-56 on Jan. 21, despite shooting a season-worst 25 percent.
Those results have made it easier for Keatts to keep his players focused on the task at hand this week. His Seahawks are 4-0 so far against the four CAA teams with losing records.
To be a serious contender, they'll need to keep winning these kind of games, too.
"We don't consider them a last-place team," Keatts said. "We consider them another very good CAA team. You can't consider them a last-place team when they just beat the team that you've lost to twice."
