Charleston rides Larson to CAA title over UNC Wilmington
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) Ryan Larson scored 23 points and his effort at both of ends of the floor late helped send Charleston past upset-minded UNC Wilmington 63-58 on Tuesday night in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship and clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
It's Charleston's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and sixth overall.
Larson, a 6-foot-1 senior, scored 15 points after halftime, making 4 of 7 from 3-point range after missing his first two 3s before the break. He came up with all four of his steals after halftime, too.
Larson had pair of steals - one of which led to a breakaway layup - and banked in a 3-pointer with the Cougars (31-3) in the midst of a late 12-0 run they used to secure the win.
“I'm just so proud of this team,” said Larson, who transferred from Wofford where he played from 2018-22. “Everyone doubted us all year and we kept proving them wrong; kept winning games. Total team effort today.”
Ante Brzovic scored 16 points for Charleston which currently has the highest win total in Division I-play this season.
UNC Wilmington led 27-24 at intermission before Charleston outscored the Seawolves 18-7 over the first 5:53 of the second half for a 42-34 lead. The Seawolves countered with 15-0 run with Trazarien White scoring eight and Amari Kelly six and UNCW led 49-42 with 9:52 left. Charleston took the lead for good on Larson's breakaway layup off the steal for a 55-53 lead with 3:33 left and the Seawolves went into an almost four-minute scoring drought.
The Cougars entered the tournament as the second seed against fourth-seed UNCW (24-10), which was coming off an overtime win the night before against top-seeded Hofstra.
Kelly and White each scored 16 points for the Seawolves.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Amari Kelly vs. Ante Brzovic (Trazarien White gains possession) | ||
| 19:29 |  | Amari Kelly misses two point jump shot | ||
| 19:27 | | Maleeck Harden-Hayes offensive rebound | ||
| 19:24 | | +2 | Maleeck Harden-Hayes makes two point layup | 2-0 |
| 18:57 | | Reyne Smith misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 18:55 | | Seahawks defensive rebound | ||
| 18:40 | | Shykeim Phillips misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 18:38 | | Jaylon Scott defensive rebound | ||
| 18:33 | | Ryan Larson misses two point layup | ||
| 18:31 | | Amari Kelly defensive rebound | ||
| 18:16 | | Donovan Newby misses two point driving layup | ||
| 18:14 | | Ante Brzovic defensive rebound | ||
| 18:04 | | Amari Kelly blocks Ante Brzovic's two point layup | ||
| 18:02 | | Ryan Larson offensive rebound | ||
| 18:01 | | Shykeim Phillips personal foul (Ryan Larson draws the foul) | ||
| 17:45 | | Reyne Smith misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 17:43 | | Ryan Larson offensive rebound | ||
| 17:35 | | +2 | Ryan Larson makes two point layup (Jaylon Scott assists) | 2-2 |
| 17:13 | | Amari Kelly misses two point layup | ||
| 17:11 | | Ante Brzovic defensive rebound | ||
| 17:07 | | Reyne Smith misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:04 | | Jaylon Scott offensive rebound | ||
| 17:04 | | Donovan Newby personal foul (Jaylon Scott draws the foul) | ||
| 17:00 | | +2 | Ante Brzovic makes two point layup | 2-4 |
| 16:41 | | Trazarien White misses two point jump shot | ||
| 16:39 | | Amari Kelly offensive rebound | ||
| 16:35 | | Donovan Newby misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:33 | | Amari Kelly offensive rebound | ||
| 16:28 | | +2 | Amari Kelly makes two point layup | 4-4 |
| 16:14 | | +2 | Pat Robinson III makes two point layup | 4-6 |
| 15:50 | | Trazarien White turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 15:50 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:38 | | Pat Robinson III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 15:36 | | Ryan Larson offensive rebound | ||
| 15:30 | | +2 | Ryan Larson makes two point layup | 4-8 |
| 15:14 | | Nick Farrar turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 15:04 | | Reyne Smith misses three point jump shot | ||
| 15:02 | | Trazarien White defensive rebound | ||
| 14:48 | | Pat Robinson III personal foul | ||
| 14:31 | | +3 | Trazarien White makes three point jump shot (Noah Ross assists) | 7-8 |
| 14:15 | | Babacar Faye turnover (traveling) | ||
| 14:02 | | Babacar Faye blocks Donovan Newby's two point driving layup | ||
| 14:00 | | Seahawks offensive rebound | ||
| 13:56 | | +2 | Donovan Newby makes two point driving layup | 9-8 |
| 13:40 | | Pat Robinson III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 13:38 | | Donovan Newby defensive rebound | ||
| 13:18 | | +2 | Jamarii Thomas makes two point driving layup | 11-8 |
| 12:57 | | +3 | Raekwon Horton makes three point jump shot (Ante Brzovic assists) | 11-11 |
| 12:28 | | Noah Ross misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:26 | | Amari Kelly offensive rebound | ||
| 12:25 | | Ante Brzovic personal foul (Amari Kelly draws the foul) | ||
| 12:22 | | +2 | Amari Kelly makes two point hook shot | 13-11 |
| 12:04 | | Raekwon Horton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:02 | | Maleeck Harden-Hayes defensive rebound | ||
| 11:54 | | Shykeim Phillips misses two point layup | ||
| 11:52 | | Seahawks offensive rebound | ||
| 11:52 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:52 | | Seahawks turnover (5-second violation) | ||
| 11:34 | | Ryan Larson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:31 | | Seahawks defensive rebound | ||
| 11:04 | | Shykeim Phillips misses two point jump shot | ||
| 11:02 | | Ante Brzovic defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Dalton Bolon misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 10:39 | | Trazarien White defensive rebound | ||
| 10:24 | | Donovan Newby turnover (lost ball) (Dalton Bolon steals) | ||
| 10:16 | | Ante Brzovic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:14 | | Jaylon Scott offensive rebound | ||
| 10:13 | | Jaylon Scott turnover (traveling) | ||
| 9:51 | | Trazarien White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:49 | | Reyne Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 9:38 | | Dalton Bolon misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:36 | | Trazarien White defensive rebound | ||
| 9:21 | | Trazarien White turnover (traveling) | ||
| 9:01 | | Ryan Larson turnover (bad pass) (Shykeim Phillips steals) | ||
| 8:57 | | Reyne Smith shooting foul (Shykeim Phillips draws the foul) | ||
| 8:57 | | +1 | Shykeim Phillips makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-11 |
| 8:57 | | +1 | Shykeim Phillips makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-11 |
| 8:43 | | Maleeck Harden-Hayes shooting foul (Pat Robinson III draws the foul) | ||
| 8:43 | | +1 | Pat Robinson III makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-12 |
| 8:43 | | Pat Robinson III misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 8:43 | | Trazarien White defensive rebound | ||
| 8:30 | | Jamarii Thomas turnover (lost ball) (Reyne Smith steals) | ||
| 8:24 | | +2 | Ryan Larson makes two point layup | 15-14 |
| 7:59 | | +2 | Nick Farrar makes two point layup (Trazarien White assists) | 17-14 |
| 7:42 | | +3 | Reyne Smith makes three point jump shot (Babacar Faye assists) | 17-17 |
| 7:10 | | +2 | Shykeim Phillips makes two point pullup jump shot (Jamarii Thomas assists) | 19-17 |
| 6:57 | | Ryan Larson turnover (lost ball) (Shykeim Phillips steals) | ||
| 6:52 | | +2 | Shykeim Phillips makes two point layup (Trazarien White assists) | 21-17 |
| 6:42 | | Nick Farrar blocks Pat Robinson III's two point layup | ||
| 6:40 | | Cougars offensive rebound | ||
| 6:39 | | TV timeout | ||
| 6:23 | | Ante Brzovic turnover (lost ball) (Amari Kelly steals) | ||
| 6:03 | | Shykeim Phillips turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 5:41 | | +2 | Ante Brzovic makes two point layup | 21-19 |
| 5:21 | | Amari Kelly misses two point hook shot | ||
| 5:19 | | Raekwon Horton defensive rebound | ||
| 5:15 | | Jamahri Harvey personal foul | ||
| 5:05 | | Pat Robinson III turnover (out of bounds) | ||
| 4:40 | | Trazarien White misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 4:38 | | Pat Robinson III defensive rebound | ||
| 4:28 | | +2 | Pat Robinson III makes two point driving layup | 21-21 |
| 4:28 | | Shykeim Phillips shooting foul (Pat Robinson III draws the foul) | ||
| 4:28 | | +1 | Pat Robinson III makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 21-22 |
| 4:13 | | Amari Kelly misses two point layup | ||
| 4:11 | | Ante Brzovic defensive rebound | ||
| 4:05 | | Ante Brzovic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:03 | | Pat Robinson III offensive rebound | ||
| 3:58 | | Trazarien White shooting foul (Pat Robinson III draws the foul) | ||
| 3:58 | | TV timeout | ||
| 3:58 | | Pat Robinson III misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 3:58 | | Pat Robinson III misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 3:58 | | Trazarien White defensive rebound | ||
| 3:38 | | +2 | Jamarii Thomas makes two point cutting layup (Trazarien White assists) | 23-22 |
| 3:17 | | Dalton Bolon misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:06 | | Jamarii Thomas misses two point layup | ||
| 3:04 | | Dalton Bolon defensive rebound | ||
| 2:48 | | Pat Robinson III misses two point jump shot | ||
| 2:46 | | Amari Kelly defensive rebound | ||
| 2:37 | | Jaylon Scott personal foul (Trazarien White draws the foul) | ||
| 2:32 | | +2 | Donovan Newby makes two point floating jump shot | 25-22 |
| 2:12 | | Ben Burnham misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:10 | | Jamarii Thomas defensive rebound | ||
| 1:46 | | Trazarien White misses two point jump shot | ||
| 1:44 | | Ben Burnham defensive rebound | ||
| 1:22 | | Ryan Larson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:20 | | Maleeck Harden-Hayes defensive rebound | ||
| 1:20 | | Jump ball. (Seahawks gains possession) | ||
| 0:52 | | +2 | Maleeck Harden-Hayes makes two point layup (Nick Farrar assists) | 27-22 |
| 0:34 | | +2 | Ryan Larson makes two point layup (Raekwon Horton assists) | 27-24 |
| 0:25 | | Seahawks 30 second timeout | ||
| 0:03 | | Nick Farrar misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:01 | | Babacar Faye defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |