CCU

Men's Basketball Loses Regular-Season Finale To Winthrop, 83-69

           

Men's Basketball Loses Regular-Season Finale To Winthrop, 83-69

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CONWAY, S.C. -- Coastal Carolina's men's basketball squad got to within five in the second half but could get no closer, eventually losing its regular-season finale to visiting Winthrop, 83-69, Feb. 24. With the loss, the Chanticleers fall to 15-14 and finish 7-7 in the Big South, while the two-time defending champion Eagles wrap up a perfect Big South slate at 14-0 and are 25-4 overall.

Coastal held three leads in the first half early on, including a 15-14 advantage with 12:20 remaining in the first period. Winthrop went on a 9-1 surge over the next four minutes to take a lead it would never relinquish, going up 24-16 with 7:13 remaining. The Eagles pushed the advantage to 16 at 42-26 late in the first half and eventually entered the lockerroom with a 42-28 halftime lead.

Winthrow continued to lead by double digits early in the second half and was up 51-39 with 14:28 remaining in the game. Coastal went on an 8-1 run to cut the margin to just five at 52-47 and was down 57-52 with just under 10 minutes to play. However, the Eagles continued to connect and pushed the lead back out to 14 at 70-56 with 5:13 to go and CCU could get no closer than eight in the remaining minutes.

The Chants hit on 46.4 percent (26-of-56) of their shots from the floor, but the Eagles were up to the task, knocking down 50.8 percent (30-of-59) of their attempts, including 12-of-24 from the three-point arc. The teams tied the board battle, but Winthrop cashed in 15 Coastal miscues for 23 points.

Coastal was paced by Joshua Mack with 17 points, with Moses Sonko and Jack Leasure adding 14 and 10, respectively. Adrian Gross had a solid game with eight points and a game-high 11 boards. Winthrop was led by Torrell Martin, who was impressive throughout with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from the three-point arc. Craig Bradshaw added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Phillip Williams and Michael Jenkins each chipped in 11.

The No. 4 seed Chanticleers will take on No. 5 UNC Asheville in the first round of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Championship at Kimbel Arena, Tue., Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. The two teams split the season series, with each team winning on the road.