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The Toledo Rockets (3-4) lost their second straight game to the UNC Wilmington Seahawks (5-1) 102-77 at the Challenge in Music City on Sunday. The Rockets held their own in the first half, as the Seahawks only led 42-39 at halftime. UNCW came out of the break on a 23-8 run and shot 61 percent in the second half to secure the victory. Meanwhile, the Rockets could not get anything going from beyond the arc, shooting a poor 4 for 19.
It was the usual suspects pulling the weight for the Toledo Rockets in this one. Jonathan Williams posted 16 points, while Steve Taylor Jr. put up 13. The Rockets did have some surprise production from sophomore Taylor Adway off the bench. Adway shot a perfect 5 for 5 from the field for 13 points in only 14 minutes on the court. Turnovers have been a big problem for Toledo this season, and was once again an issue against UNCW. The Rockets had a whopping 18 turnovers that the Seahawks turned into 24 points.
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UNC Wilmington rolled in this one, shooting an impressive 57 percent from the field. A top contender to be the best team in the CAA this season and they proved that statement in this matchup against Toledo. Devontae Cacok led the Seahawks in scoring with 18 points. Cacok had help from UNCW’s leading scorer Chris Flemmings and teammate C.J. Bryce who each put 14 points. The Seahawks did not have much production from their bench, as the starters scored 66 of their 102 points. Not to mention, not one bench player posted double-digit points. A sneaky good team that will cause a lot of trouble for highly ranked teams this season.
The Rockets will have to clean up their abundance of turnovers if they are going to want to win more games this season. Toledo has a week off now, and will face the Green Bay Phoenix (3-3) at home on December 3rd. The Rockets do not play an inter-conference team until January 3rd where they will take on Buffalo. Toledo will try to make up some ground in December as they take on six non-conference foes.