WILMINGTON, North Carolina - Freshman guard Adam Smith scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to spark UNCW past Furman, 72-61, Friday night in men's basketball action at Trask Coliseum.

The win was UNCW's fourth victory in six games and boosted the Seahawks' record to 4-7. The Paladins fell to 6-7 on the year.

After a cold start, UNCW poured it on in the latter stages of the first half, closing the stanza on a 32-10 run to take a 40-25 lead into the break. The Seahawks never allowed Furman to cut the advantage to single digits the rest of the way.

Sophomore Tanner Milson was the only other UNCW player in double figures with 11 points, but the Seahawks received scoring across the board, with 11 players collecting at least one point.

The Paladins received double-digit point totals from four of its five starters, with junior Bryant Irwin and sophomore Charlie Reddick heading up the charge with 11 markers apiece. Senior Brandon Sebirumbi and junior Colin Reddick both added 10 points.

UNCW 's slow start came to the tune of 3-of-9 shooting, combined with two turnovers, in the opening seven minutes. Furman used the span to jump out to a 15-8 lead off a layin from freshman Jordan Loyd with 12:53 remaining in the frame.

From there, Smith turned on the jets for the Seahawks.  Smith tallied eight points in a quick 15-2 run, and the Jonesboro, Ga., native capped the span with a pull-up jumper in the paint at the 7:29 mark to give UNCW a 23-17 advantage. UNCW closed out the opening half converting 13 of its last 22 attempts from the field (59 percent) to carry a 15-point lead into the intermission.

In the second half, the Seahawks stretched their lead to as many as 20 points, 54-34, when senior Trevor Deloach drained two free throws with 12:35 remaining.

The Paladins chipped away at the lead in the final minutes, but couldn't get closer than 12 points until a trey from freshman David Brown cut the lead to 11 with only four seconds remaining.

UNCW resumes its conference schedule Monday when the Seahawks play host to the Delaware Blue Hens in a 2:00 p.m. matinee. Furman returns to Southern Conference play by hosting The Citadel on Thursday.

GAME NOTES: The victory against Furman was UNCW's last non-conference game until Feb. 18 when the Seahawks participate in ESPN Bracketbusters ... The contest was the first meeting between the Seahawks and the Paladins despite a combined 160 years of basketball history ... The lead only changed one time in the game, when a Milson trey gave UNCW an 18-17 advantage with 10:56 remaining in the first half to put the Seahawks in front for good ... The Paladins shot 6-of-26 from beyond the arc for 23.1 percent ... The 15-point halftime advantage held by UNCW was the team's largest lead at the break this season ... UNCW held Furman to 33.8 percent shooting from the floor, which marks a season low in defensive field goal percentage for the Seahawks ... Junior Keith Rendleman passed former Seahawk Vladimar Kuljanin on the program's all-time blocks list with three blocks against Furman, meaning Rendleman now sits sixth in history with 78 career blocks ... UNCW coach Buzz Peterson is now 6-2 against the Paladins after compiling a 5-2 record while coaching at Appalachian State.