Men's Basketball Defeats Jacksonville State, 88-78
12/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Chanticleers have four in double figures in victory over visiting Gamecocks
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CONWAY, SC - Coastal Carolina made it back-to-back victories with a 88-78 victory over Jacksonville State at CCU’s Kimbel Arena, Dec. 15. With the win, Coastal moves to 2-6 on the season, while the Gamecocks fall to 4-5 on the year.
Coastal jumped out early on the visiting Gamecocks, opening the game with a 22-4 run in just over nine minutes. Sparked by junior Pele Paelay’s (Derwood, Md./Magruder) eight points, CCU had an 20-point lead at 26-6 with 8:24 to go. JSU went on a 12-2 run of their own to cut the lead to 10 at 28-18 with 5:50 to go in the first half. However, senior Alvin Green’s (Socastee, S.C./Socastee) three-pointer stemmed the tide, and the Chanticleers went into the halftime lockerroom with a 42-33 advantage. Green led the Coastal effort with 11 in the opening half, as the Chanticleers shot 58.6 percent from the field, including knocking down 4-of-6 from the three-point arc. CCU’s defense made a difference also, limiting Jacksonville State to 39.3 percent from the field, including shutting out JSU’s leading scorer, Walker Russell, in the half.
Jacksonville State cut into CCU’s lead early in the second half, getting to within seven on two occasions, the last at 45-38 with 17:36 to play. But the Chants would have the answer every time, pushing the lead to as many as 16 with just over eight minutes to go in the game. CCU’s lead only dipped under double figures one other time in the late going, as the Chants salted the game away by knocking down 17-of-23 free throws in the second half.
Coastal hit at a stellar 57.4 percent clip from the field, including 5-for-11 from three-point range. The Chanticleers converted 15 JSU turnovers into 20 points. The Gamecocks hit 61.5 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game at 50 percent, but were outrebounded by CCU 32-27.
Coastal sophomore Moses Sonko (East Greenwich, R.I./Classical) tied his career best with game-highs of 21 points and nine rebounds, while Green added 20, seven rebounds and seven assists. Junior Colin Stevens (Phoenix, Md./Delany) had 16 points, while Paelay chipped in 14. Jacksonville State was led by B.J. Spencer (Starkville, Miss./Beville State-Summiton) with 25 points, while Dorien Brown added 17. Russell finished with 12 points and nine assists, with all scoring in the second half and most of that after the game was decided.
The Chants return to action Sat., Dec. 18 at Kimbel Arena when they face UNC Wilmington. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
