Second-seeded Charleston rallied from an eight-point deficit over the final six minutes to defeat fourth-seeded UNCW, 63-58, and capture the Jersey Mike's CAA Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
The Cougars improved to 31-3 after their 10th consecutive victory, breaking the conference record for most wins in a season set by Navy in 1985-86. The CAA title was the second for Charleston, which also took home the trophy in 2018, and earned them an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
UNCW, which reached the CAA title game for the second year in a row and 13th time overall, fell to 24-10 after the setback.
Trailing 53-45 with 6:13 to go, Charleston reeled off 12 unanswered points. Guard Ryan Larson (6'1''-G-2000), who was selected as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, spurred the comeback by scoring six straight points and then assisting on a layup by Jaylon Scott (6'5''-G) that put the Cougars ahead 57-53 with 2:54 left.
UNCW trimmed the deficit to one on a Donovan Newby (6'1''-G-2002) three-pointer, but the Cougars' Ante Brzovic (6'10''-F-2000) hit back-to-back jumpers to make it 63-58 with 29 seconds remaining. A bucket from the Seahawks' Trazarien White (6'6''-F) made it a one-possession game, but Reyne Smith (6'2''-G-2002) sank a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
Larson finished with a game-high 23 points and also made four steals, while Brzovic contributed 16 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. Amari Kelly (6'9''-F-1999) tallied 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds for UNCW and Trazarien White had 16 points and six boards.
Neither team led by more than five points in a hard-fought opening half that featured five ties and four lead changes. A three-point play by Pat Robinson III (6'3''-G) III put Charleston in front, 22-21, with 4:28 left in period.
UNCW answered with six straight points capped by a Maleeck Harden-Hayes (6'7''-G) layup to take its largest lead, 27-22, with 52 seconds to go. Larson's layup ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Cougars and pulled them within 27-24 at the break.
After shooting just 34.5% in the opening 20 minutes, Charleston's offense got going to start the second half. Behind eight points from Brzovic and a pair of Larson treys, the Cougars went on a 16-4 spurt to go up 40-31 with 14:46 remaining.
However UNCW, which overcame 12-point deficits to win its first two tournament games, came roaring back once again. Keyed by 11 points from White and six from Kelly, the Seahawks responded with an 18-2 run over the next five minutes to regain the advantage, 49-42 with 9:51 on the clock.
Charleston shot just 40.4% from the floor, including 6-of-26 from 3-point range, but made 10 steals and forced 17 turnovers. UNCW shot 40.7% for the game and hit only 3-of-14 from beyond the arc.

Courtesy of caasports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Ryan Larson (6'1''-G-2000) of Charleston
Player of the Year: Aaron Estrada (6'3''-G-2001) of Hofstra
Defensive Player of the Year: Amari Williams (6'10''-F-2002) of Drexel
Sixth Man of the Year: Pat Robinson III (6'3''-G) of Charleston
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Zac Ervin (6'5''-G/F-2000) of Elon
Coach of the Year: Speedy Claxton of Hofstra

All-CAA First Team 2023

Bolon

Estrada

Nelson Jr.

Timberlake

Williams

First Team
Dalton Bolon (6'4''-G) of Charleston
Aaron Estrada (6'3''-G-2001) of Hofstra
Jameer Nelson Jr. (6'1''-G) of Delaware
Nicolas Timberlake (6'4''-G) of Towson
Amari Williams (6'10''-F-2002) of Drexel

All-CAA Second Team 2023

Holden

Thomas

Thompson

White

Woods

Second Team
Cameron Holden (6'5''-G-2000) of Towson
Tyler Thomas (6'3''-G) of Hofstra
Charles Thompson (6'7''-F) of Towson
Trazarien White (6'6''-F) of UNCW
Kameron Woods (6'2''-G-2001) of NC A&T

All-CAA Third Team 2023

Brzovic

Davis

Larson

Stephenson-Moore

Telfort

Third Team
Ante Brzovic (6'10''-F-2000) of Charleston
Jyare Davis (6'7''-F-2002) of Delaware
Ryan Larson (6'1''-G-2000) of Charleston
Tyler Stephenson-Moore (6'3''-G) of Stony Brook
Jahmyl Telfort (6'7''-G-2001) of Northeastern

All-CAA All-Defensive Team 2023

Carlos

Nelson Jr.

Scott

Thompson

Williams

All-Defensive Team
Jaquan Carlos (6'0''-PG) of Hofstra
Jameer Nelson Jr. (6'1''-G) of Delaware
Jaylon Scott (6'5''-G) of Charleston
Charles Thompson (6'7''-F) of Towson
Amari Williams (6'10''-F-2002) of Drexel

All-CAA All-Rookie Team 2023

Collins

Mackinnon

Moore

Mullen

Powell

All-Rookie Team
Jack Collins (6'5''-G) of Monmouth
Max Mackinnon (6'5''-G/F-2003) of Elon
Justin Moore (6'3''-G) of Drexel
Kyrese Mullen (6'7''-F) of Hampton
Duncan Powell (6'8''-F) of NC A&T

All-CAA All-Tournament Team 2023

Brzovic

Estrada

Larson

Newby

Timberlake

White

All-Tournament Team
Ante Brzovic (6'10''-F-2000) of Charleston
Aaron Estrada (6'3''-G-2001) of Hofstra
Ryan Larson (6'1''-G-2000) of Charleston
Donovan Newby (6'1''-G-2002) of UNCW
Nicolas Timberlake (6'4''-G) of Towson
Trazarien White (6'6''-F) of UNCW