Saturday, November 30, 2002

WILMINGTON, N.C. (Nov. 30, 2002) - East Tennessee State fell behind early in the first half and could not recover as the UNC Wilmington Seahawks defeated the Bucs, 78-57, Saturday afternoon from Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, N.C. The Seahawks, playing their home opener, won their second straight and improved to 2-1 with the non-conference victory. The Buccaneers fell to 1-2 in the new season. Sophomore guard Tiras Wade (Tampa, Fla.)had a season-high 21 points and on the day and freshman point guard Tim Smith (Newport News, Va.) had 14 points for ETSU. Wade also added a team-high six rebounds. UNCW senior guard Brett Blizzard led four players in double figures with 21 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range Blizzard made 8-of-16 shots and added five assists to pace the Seahawks. Junior forward Anthony Terrell collected 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds, senior center Craig Callahan chipped in 12 and junior guard Tim Burnette scored 12. After building a 42-31 lead at intermission, Terrell made back-to-back baskets to open the second half and give the Seahawks a 46-31 cushion with 19:17 remaining. ETSU battled back, however, to cut the deficit to 46-39 with an eight-point run. A turnaround jumper by Jerald Fields with 16:17 left brought the Buccaneers to within seven points. Callahan scored a bucket from close range and Blizzard canned a trey from the right corner to push the lead back to 51-39 and the Seahawks went on another seven-point spurt to go ahead, 60-45, on Burnette's 3-pointer with 10:31 left. A 3-pointer by Burnette with 6:47 gave the Seahawks their largest lead, 67-46. The Seahawks took command early in the first half and built a 15-point lead before settling for a 42-31 advantage at intermission. Tim Burnette converted a conventional 3-point play at 5:47 to give UNCW a 36-21 lead. The Buccaneers visit Vanderbilt Wednesday, Dec. 4, for an 8 p.m. tipoff from Nashville, Tenn.