Liberty Holds Off Coastal Carolina 86-80
1/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CONWAY, S.C. — Liberty University posted leads as large as 16 points three times in the second half and then held off Coastal Carolina University for an 86-80 Big South Conference men's basketball victory Monday in Kimbel Arena. Liberty improves to 3-14 overall and 1-2 in the Big South, while the Chanticleers fall to 2-13 overall and remain winless after four conference contests.
With the game tied 7-7 3:02 into the first half, Liberty went on a 20-7 run to open a 27-14 margin with 10:33 remaining in the opening period. Chris Caldwell, who scored a game-high 30 points, tallied 10 points during this stretch. The Flames held the double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the first half, but Derrick Robinson's 3-point basket capped the scoring and cut the lead to eight points at 41-33 heading into the locker room.
Liberty built the advantage bacck to 12 points in the opening three minutes of the second half before Coastal used a 5-0 run to cut the score to 50-44 with 14:15 remaining. After the squads traded baskets, the Flames used another spurt to open the lead back to double figures midway through the half and appeared ready to cruise to victory.
Coastal watched as Liberty built the lead to 16 points three times, the last being with 5:07 remaining at 76-60 on Glyn Turner's layup. The Chanticleers stormed back using a 14-2 run to cut the advantage to just four points at 78-74 with 1:06 remaining to play. Robinson tallied six points during the run and walk-on Marko Durovic gave the Chants a boost with five points during the same stretch.
A pair of missed treys and a costly turnover by Kelvin Coggins over the next 36 seconds ended Coastal's hopes to pull out a victory as Liberty netted a pair of free throws and a Caldwell fastbreak layup on Coggins turnover during that span. The Flames connected on 6-of-9 free throws in the final minute of action for the victory.
Caldwell connected on 13-of-21 from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc, and 3-of-5 from the free throw line for his 30 points. He also added four rebounds, four assists and four steals to Liberty's cause. Vincent Okotie tallied 17 points and eight rebounds, while Philip Ward added 10 points off of the bench.
Robinson and Durovic each posted career-highs for Coastal Carolina, netting 25 and 15 points, respectively. Robinson added seven boards and a game-high six assists. Alvin Green scored 11 points for CCU, while Antonio Darden and Coggins posted 10 each.
Liberty's play proved consistent as the Flames connected on 16-of-28 from the field in each half for a 57.1 shooting percentage for the game. Coastal, which shot 51.9 percent in the opening half, cooled to 41.7 percent in the final stanza.
Coastal Carolina will host Birmingham-Southern College in a Big South Conference doubleheader on Saturday, January 19. The women's game will tipoff at 5:00 p.m., while the men's game will begin at approximately 7:00 p.m.
