Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from DC with a recap of the championship game on Tuesday night.
There was some serious pre-game pageantry with the national anthem played by a trumpeter, and you know it is a big game when the Space Force marches out with the flags:
I missed out on dinner to do happy hour with a friend visiting from out of town. Let’s tip off the title game and see who will hoist the trophy:
DELAWARE-UNCW
The 2 coaches are ready to roll:
It is hard to believe that Delaware PG Izaiah Pasha is only a freshman. He scored 10 PTS in the 1sy half by getting to the rim for layup after layup and was a perfect 4-4 from the FT line:
In contrast, UNCW got most of its scoring from a pair of 6’5″ veteran guards. Grad student Bo Montgomery made a pretty bank shot off the glass and a pair of layups, while JR Greedy Williams made a leaner in the lane and a corner 3:
The good news for Delaware is that after falling behind 29-14 they made a nice little run to finish the half with just an 8-PT deficit. The very BAD news for the Blue Hens is that the Seahawks are 23-0 this year when leading at halftime:
In the 2nd half the Blue Hens took a 41-40 lead right before the under-16 timeout on a 3 by John Camden as the fans went crazy:
His teammate Cavan Reilly, who went scoreless in the 1st half, got off to a hot start in the 2nd stanza with a pull-up J, a layup, a 3, and a pair of tough scoops to give his team a 58-57 lead with 8 minutes remaining…and the dream was alive!:
Delaware F Niels Lane made a ton of layups in the 2nd half including 1 that cut the deficit to 65-62 with under 5 minutes left:
I walked down to the court to prepare for the postgame celebration and got to hang out by the UNCW bench with Sammy while we waited to see whose ticket would get punched:
I almost missed the Blue Hens pulling off an all-time Cinder-Dela story…but Seahawk G Donovan Newby made some clutch FTs down the stretch to clinch a 76-72 victory:
That is a wrap for tonight, check back tomorrow for some great UNCW celebration photos, and check back later this week when the A-10 comes to DC!
