CCU

Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to College of Charleston

           

Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to College of Charleston

CONWAY, S.C. -- The Coastal Carolina men's basketball team fought back throughout the second half, but came up short after a controversial call with 0.6 seconds to play left the Chanticleers with a 73-72 home opening loss to the College of Charleston, Dec. 6. With the loss, CCU fell to 1-4, while the Cougars moved to 4-1.

Coastal jumped out to a 9-2 lead early, but the first half was a see-saw battle, as neither team could build a substantial lead. The Cougars made a late run in the half and headed into the intermission with a 41-36 halftime margin.

College of Charleston continued the late momentum in opening the second half, building the lead quickly to double digits and as large as 14 at 62-48 with 8:22 to play. Coastal Carolina got on a roll in the late going, cutting the lead down to four points when CCU's Clint Reed was ejected from the game with 4:46 to play on a flagrant technical. Coastal fell back behind by seven after the three-pointer for CofC, but continued to battle, tying the game at 70 in the late minutes. Brandon Newby's layup with 20 seconds gave the Chants a 72-71 lead, but Thomas Mobley sank a pair of free throws with eight seconds to play to put the Cougars up one. Then came the most dramatic moment, as Newby drove just outside the left side of the lane and banked in a layup with 0.6 seconds left that appeared to give CCU the win. However, a controversial charging call wiped out the basket and gave the win to the visiting Cougars.

Senior guard E.J. Gallup led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, including five three-pointers. Senior guard Brandon Newby was the only other Chanticleer in double figures with 15 points. College of Charleston was led by Mike Benton with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his double-double. Three other Cougars scored in double figures, led by Tony Mitchell with 15.

Coastal will next be in action Sun., Dec. 14, as the Chants host St. Andrews at Kimbel Arena for a 2 p.m. tipoff.