WASHINGTON (AP) — Donovan Newby had 17 points, Noah Ross scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and UNC Wilmington denied No. 12 seed Delaware a historic end to the tournament with a 76-72 victory on Tuesday night in the Coastal Athletic Association championship game.
Second-seeded UNC Wilmington (27-7) secured its league-record seventh CAA title since the 1982-83 season — and its first since capturing back-to-back titles in 2016 and '17.
Delaware (16-20) entered the tournament on a six-game losing streak, including a 30-point loss to UNCW in the regular-season finale. The Blue Hens then rattled off four wins for a chance at becoming just the third team in Division I men’s history to win five games in five days en route to a conference title.
Newby made four straight free throws in the final 13.8 seconds, the last two after freshman Izaiah Pasha made a 3-pointer for Delaware to get within 74-72. Newby was a perfect 8 for 8 at the stripe.
Bo Montgomery added 13 points and Khamari McGriff had 10 for UNCW.
Pasha led Delaware with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Niels Lane added 20 points. Cavan Reilly scored 13 and John Camden 12.
UNCW jumped out to a 22-10 lead after 13 minutes as Delaware started the game by making just 3 of 19 shots. But the Blue Hens got back in it by making five straight shots to begin a 16-3 run to get within 31-28 with 1:17 left.
John Camden sank a contested 3-pointer with 15:30 left in the second half to give Delaware its first lead, 41-40, since it was 5-4.
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