RICHMOND, VA -- Second-seeded UNC Wilmington put five players in double figures as the Seahawks posted an 82-59 victory over seventh-seeded Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Quarterfinals Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum.

UNC Wilmington, which improved to 20-12 on the season and avenged a 68-67 loss to the Blue Hens in the teams’ only regular season meeting, advances to the tournament semifinals where the Seahawks will face the winner of Friday night’s George Mason vs. Northeastern quarterfinal game. Delaware finished the season 14-17, a nine-win improvement over the Blue Hens’ 5-26 mark last year.

Daniel Fountain scored a team-high 18 points and added eight rebounds for UNC Wilmington, while Vladimir Kuljanin, who leads the CAA in field goal percentage, went 7 of 8 from the field en route to 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Chad Tomko added 17 points for the Seahawks, while Dominique Lacy contributed 12 points and Todd Hendley chipped in 10.

Delaware senior forward Herb Courtney (at right) scored a game-high 19 points, including 16 in the first half, and led the Blue Hens with seven rebounds in his final game as a Blue Hen. Courtney finishes his career ranked 10th in UD history with both 1,291 career points and 649 career rebounds. Sophomore Brian Johnson scored 12 points while adding team-highs of five assists and three steals for Delaware, while freshman Alphonso Dawson contributed 11 points.

Courtney paced the Blue Hens early by scoring Delaware’s first nine points, and a fadeaway jumper by Egerson gave UD a 12-11 lead with 13:08 remaining in the first half. However UNC Wilmington answered with eight consecutive points to take a 19-12 advantage with 10:17 left following a three-point play by Lacy.

Delaware, which fell to 0-4 against UNC Wilmington in the CAA Tournament, closed to within 23-19 on Courtney basket, but the Seahawks scored 13 points in a row to take a 36-19 lead at the 4:13 mark after a Tomko jumper. UNCW was still up 17 at 42-25, but Courtney hit a three-pointer and Johnson drained a baseline jumper with two seconds remaining to cut the Seahawks lead to 42-30 at the half.

However UNCW scored the first seven points of the second period to go ahead 49-30 at the 17:16 mark, and a three-pointer by T.J. Carter gave the Seahawks a 52-33 advantage with 15:10 to play.

UNC Wilmington still led 57-40 with 12:11 remaining, but Courtney hit a foul shot and Edwin Santiago scored a basket to bring Delaware within 14 points. Dawson then added a layup and Johnson hit a free throw to make it a 57-46 game with 9:53 to go. However the Seahawks answered with five straight points and the Blue Hens would not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

“UNC Wilmington has great balance, and when they are making outside shots it is very difficult to defend,” said Delaware second-year head coach Monté Ross. “It was a good step for our program to win a game in the CAA Tournament, and hopefully it will be a springboard to bigger and better things. Herb’s true value cannot be stated just in a box score. He and the other two seniors have shown our young players how to be leaders.”

Delaware, which was looking to advance to the CAA Tournament Semifinals for the first time since the 2002-03 season, dropped to 4-13 all-time against UNC Wilmington. The Seahawks, who entered the game leading the league in field goal percentage, shot 56.5 percent from the field and held a 39-28 rebounding advantage.

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