CCU Holds Off Liberty for 58-54 Victory
11/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, VA— Coastal Carolina hit nine three-pointers and held off a late Liberty rally en route to a 58-54 win over the Flames Saturday evening in Big South men's basketball action at the Vines Center.
With the Chanticleers (6-14, 3-5 BSC) holding a 50-32 advantage with 9:14 left in the contest, Liberty went on a 18-4 scoring spree to cut their deficit to 54-50 with 58 seconds remaining. After a pair of free throws by Justin Burton (G, Sr., Northwood, Ohio) gave Coastal Carolina a six-point advantage with 52 seconds remaining, Jason Sarchet's (F, So., Newell, Iowa) tip-in brought the Flames (3-20, 1-8 BSC) to within four at 56-52.
Brandon Newby (G, Jr., Lanham, Md.) gave the Chanticleers a five-point edge with 13 seconds remaining when he hit one-of-two free throws. After Travis Eisentrout (G, Fr., Berlin, Pa.) missed a three-pointer to seemingly end any hopes of a Flames comeback, but the Chanticleers received a technical foul when Newby called a timeout with six second remaining when Coastal Carolina didn't haven't left. Eisentrout hit both technical shots to bring the Flames within 57-54. However, Antonio Darden (F, Jr., Randallstown, Md.) nailed one of two free throws with four seconds left to put to end any hopes of a Flames comeback.
In the first half, Liberty jumped out to a 9-3 lead but Coastal Carolina finished the final 15:57 of the first half on a 34-13 run in taking a 37-22 advantage at intermission.
Burton scored a game high 17 points and grabbed a game high 10 rebounds in only his second game of the season. Newby and Darden rounded out the double figure scorers for the Chanticleers scoring 11 points each.
Eisentrout tallied a team high 13 points to pace the Flames efforts. Chris Caldwell (G, Sr., Houston, Texas) and Vincent Okotie (F, Jr., El Cajon, Calif.) rounded out the double figures for Liberty scoring 12 and 10 points respectively.
