CCU

Men's Hoops Wins Second Straight, Defeats Radford 85-67

       

Men's Hoops Wins Second Straight, Defeats Radford 85-67

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CONWAY, S.C. -- Senior forward Moses Sonko and junior guard Jack Leasure each tallied game-high 25 points to lead the Coastal Carolina men's basketball squad to an 85-67 Big South Conference victory over visiting Radford, Feb. 5. With their second straight win and 11th in 12 games this year at Kimbel Arena, the Chanticleers advance to 13-11 and 6-4 in Big South play while the Highlanders drop their sixth consecutive game and fall to 7-18 and 2-8 in the league.

Coastal grabbed the lead early and never trailed in the contest with RU. There was one tie at two all and then Coastal went on a 10-0 run, including four points from Leasure and a three pointer each from junior guard Everage Richardson and freshman guard Joshua Mack to make it 12-2 just under five minutes into the game. Radford battled back, chipping the lead down to one at 19-18 with 6:43 to go in the first on a layup by Amir Johnson. However, Coastal had another answer, going on an 8-0 surge to make it 27-18 just three minutes later. After a dunk by RU's Chris Oliver and a free throw from Reggie McIntyre made it 27-21 with 2:20 to go, the Chants score the final seven points of the half, including a three by Leasure and a pair of layups by Richardson to take a 34-21 halftime lead.

CCU stretched the advantage to 18 at 41-23 early in the second half, with all seven points scored by Sonko, including a conventional three-point play. The Highlanders continued to scrap and clawed back to within seven at 60-53 with 8:53 to go in the game and it was just 69-59 with 4:49 to play. But unlike two of the last three meetings, Coastal put this one away in the closing minutes, outscoring RU 16-8 over the final span to secure the home victory and avenge the team's only home loss last season.

Coastal hit on 47.7 percent (31-for-65) of its shots from the field, including going 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) from the three-point arc. Radford was good on 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) of its shots from the floor, but only hit 2-for-8 from the three-point line. The boards were tied at 39, but the Chants took better advantage of their offensive rebounds, outscoring the Highlanders on second-chance points, 25-12.

Sonko made his night a double-double, his eighth of the year, by adding 12 rebounds to his 25 points, while Leasure hit on 8-of-13 from the floor, including five treys, for his 25 points and also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Mack hit for 15 points, while Richardson chipped in 11 points and five boards on the night. Oliver led the Highlanders with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kenny Thomas and Johnson contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Reggie McIntyre also had nine points and 11 boards for RU.

Coastal heads on the road for a pair of key Big South matchups, starting at High Point, Sat., Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. The swing wraps up at Liberty, Mon., Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.