Wilmington, NC (February 1st, 2024) - Cape Fear Men's Basketball returned home to the Schwartz Center for the first time in 2024 in front of a packed house for CFCC's Sea Devil Spirit Week celebration vs their local rivals, the Brunswick Dolphins. Cape Fear previously defeated the Dolphins in last year's Region 10 Championship game 85-65. However, the Brunswick Dolphins returned the favor as they finished last night's matchup with a 92-80 victory over Cape Fear.

Throughout the first half, the Sea Devils made aggressive drives to the basket and worked together cohesively on offense. They made key defensive stops that led them to clutch baskets in transition play. The Sea Devils trailed the Dolphins by just 2 points going into halftime with a score of 36-34.

Moving into the second half of play, the Sea Devils ended up on their back foot while executing different defensive presses - ultimately leading to gaps in their defense where Brunswick could take advantage of the situation. The 3-point shooting from the Dolphins also caught the Sea Devils off guard as they struggled to defend both drives in the paint and outside jumpers respectively. Ultimately, the Dolphins pulled away in the final 12 minutes of play in favor of Brunswick.

"We will be going over scenarios moving forward for how to play during a tight lead situation where we need defensive stops," remarks Head Coach Mark Lane. "The effort was there, but we ran out of gas. Looking forward to solidifying things in anticipation of this weekend."

Cape Fear Men's Basketball will travel to Spartanburg, SC this weekend to take on SMC on Saturday, February 3rd at 3 PM.