The men’s basketball team broke their four-game losing streak tonight with a 71-63 win against UNCW, who they lost to last month.

This win marked head coach Bill Coen’s 158th CAA win, placing him second all-time in league history. He is tied with former Drexel coach Bruiser Flint and follows former George Mason coach and current Miami coach Jim Larranaga with 183 wins.

“Is it a milestone?” Coen joked. “It’s been many years since I’ve scored a basket or grabbed a rebound, so whatever we achieve here is about the students.”

Redshirt senior guard Jordan Roland led the game with 27 points, followed by UNCW redshirt sophomore Marten Linssen with 20 points. Senior guard Bolden Brace led the game with 14 rebounds, followed by redshirt junior guard Maxime Boursiquot’s 8 rebounds and 12 points. 

Recently, Boursiquot has been playing a larger role in games in regards to shooting and defending.

“Defense is something I try to bring to every game, I think that’s my best attribute,” Boursiquot said. “I try to get deflections and steals and try to set the tone for the other guys.”

The Huskies (12-13, 6-7 CAA) dominated the first half, never giving up control and eventually reaching a 14 point lead. The Seahawks (8-19, 3-11 CAA) received two traveling violations in the first four minutes of the game and were unable to make any baskets for the first seven minutes of the contest. Eventually, UNCW sophomore guard Jaylen Sims made a jumper and finally got his team on the board.

Just after they scored, Roland stole the ball from a Seahawk mid-bounce, and rushed it forward for a layup. In the span of 30 seconds, Boursiquot made a layup, blocked a dunk attempt, fouled and went for a free throw. 

The first half ended 34-24, NU.

The second half was full of fouls on both sides, which slowed the half down significantly in contrast to a quick first half. In this half, the Huskies reached an 18-point lead and showed impressive defense of their home court.

The Seahawk bench and staff showed tremendous passion on the sidelines, with interim head coach Rob Burke charging the court multiple times.

“He’s extremely energetic,” Coen said of Burke. “Since the coaching change, they play with a lot of energy.”

Despite the win at home, it is not lost on the team that they still have to put a tremendous amount of work in for the final five games to fight for a playoff position.

“They don’t want to be the team that lets the tradition down,” Coen said. “We still have growth left in us. I’m proud of the guys for coming to practice every day because it’s not easy. Losing jades everyone.”

The Huskies (12-13, 6-7 CAA) have a quick turnaround with a home game this Saturday at noon against College of Charleston (15-11, 9-5 CAA), who they defeated in January on the Cougars’s home court.