Dec. 17, 2009

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Chants Face Savannah State Before Christmas Holiday
The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team (9-2), winners of five games in a row, start a five-game homestand Saturday, Dec. 19 against Savannah State (4-7). Tip off is at 2 p.m., in Kimbel Arena. The game can be broadcast on THE TEAM 93.9 FM with Matt Hogue on the call. The game also will be video streamed on the Big South Network at www.BigSouthSports.com. The Chanticleers are coming off a 69-58 win at Georgia Southern Tuesday night.

A Coastal Carolina Win Would...
- Continue the Chants' best start since the 1981-82 season.
- Give Head Coach Cliff Ellis his 646th career win and his 34th with the Chanticleers.
- Give Coastal a six-game winning streak for the first time since Jan. 24-March 2, 2006.
- Give the Chants their earliest 10th win since 1981-82.
- Snap a two-game losing streak to Savannah State.
- Give the Chants a 5-0 record at home, its best start in Kimbel Arena since 2007-08.

Storylines
- The game against Savannah State starts a five-game homestand for the Chanticleers. The last time the Chants have played five home games in a row was in 1983. That team went 3-2 in the homestand from Jan. 17-Jan. 27. The Chants played Winthrop in that homestand, defeating the Eagles 76-68. Winthrop is in the current homestand as well, as the two teams face off Jan. 2.
- Coastal Carolina is 67th in the latest simulated RPI as of Dec. 17. The website CollegeRPI.com has the Chants higher than Wake Forest, North Carolina, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech. Kansas State leads the RPI, followed by Duke, West Virginia and St. John's.
- Coastal Carolina had 21 assists in the Georgia Southern win and are averaging 17.5 helpers a game. If the Chants keep that average up, they would threaten the school record of 605 assists set in 1978-79. Coastal would have 543 assists after the regular season with the 17.5 average.

Scouting Savannah State
The Tigers are coming off a 77-62 loss at Creighton Dec. 16. Darius Baugh led Savannah State with 23 points, while Rashad Hassan added 14 points and five rebounds. Tracy Rankins leads the Tigers wtih a 11.4 scoring average. Arnold Louis averages 7.8 rebounds a contest, which leads SSU.

Series vs. Savannah State
Savannah State holds a 2-1 series advantage, winning in Savannah by matching 66-65 scores on Feb. 1, 2007 and Nov. 18, 2008. In the latter matchup, Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds against the Tigers. The Chanticleers won the lone matchup in Conway, defeating the Tigers 83-56 Jan. 10, 2007.

Chants Receive Vote in ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll
The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team received a vote in the latest ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches' Poll, it was announced Dec. 14. Coastal joined Northern Iowa and Baylor in a tie for 49th with one vote in the coaches' poll. The full poll can be viewed on page 7 of the game notes.

Gray Grabs Season High in Georgia Southern Win
Redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./South Carolina) was 10-of-12 from the field and scored a season-high 24 points in the 69-58 win over Georgia Southern Dec. 15. Gray also was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line and had a three-pointer in the win over the Eagles. Gray is averaging 14.4 points per game and is shooting 54.6 percent from the field.

Scoring Margin High in Coastal Games
Ten of Coastal's 11 games this season have had a scoring margin of 10 points or more. This includes the 69-58 win over Georgia Southern Dec. 15. The only game that did not have that large a margin was a 76-69 loss to Cal State Northridge Nov. 24.

Chants Unselfish in Liberty Win
Coastal Carolina dished out 22 assists in the 73-58 win over Liberty Dec. 5. Redshirt-senior Logan Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn./South Doyle), senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) and freshman Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/New Creations (Ind.)) had four assists apiece. Coastal has had 20 or more assists in six of the 11 games this season and now has the lead in the Big South in assists.

Harris Breaks Blocked Shot Record
Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) completed his milestone trifecta at VMI Dec. 3 with his first blocked shot. He now owns the career blocked shot record by himself, passing DuWayne Cheatum's 112 rejections. Harris has 118 blocks to go along with his school record 936 rebounds and his 1,147 points, which is 13th in school history in points.

Inside the VMI Box Score
The VMI games always present some interesting stats in the box score. The Dec. 3 game was no different.
- Coastal Carolina set a Big South record Thursday night by making 49 field goals in its 111-97 win over VMI. It was a record for a Big South Conference game. The previous record was 47 by Liberty at VMI Feb. 21, 2007.
- Coastal Carolina had 82 points in the paint, as 41 of its 49 field goals were in the paint.
- Every Chanticleer that played had one rebound and all but one had one assist.
- The score at the under-eight media timeout was 28-25 Coastal. The score at the under-four media timeout was 46-40 Coastal. - VMI made 13 three-pointers, while Coastal attempted just 12.
- Coastal's 111 points tied for ninth all-time in a single game. It also was the most since its 115-50 win over Lees-McRae Dec. 28, 2003.

Duo With Double-Doubles in Three Straight Wins
Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) and freshman Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va./Petersburg) both recorded double-double's in the Chants' 97-44 win over Allen Nov. 28. Harris had his 35th career double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Evans had his first double-double of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Yellow Jackets.
Then in the VMI win Dec. 3, Harris and redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./South Carolina) had double-doubles. The duo had 20 and 14 points, respectively, while both had 10 rebounds.
Then in the Liberty win Dec. 5, Harris had 16 points and 12 rebounds while senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Harris leads the nation in double doubles with seven and has 37 in his career.

Frosh Fueled Win Over VMI
The freshmen trio of Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/New Creations (Ind.), Danny Nieman (Concord, N.C./Hargrave Military) and Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va./Petersburg) combined for 52 points in the 111-97 win over VMI Dec. 3. Nieman scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Greenwood and Evans added 20 and 10 points, respectively. Greenwood added five assists and four steals, while Evans was 4-of-6 from the floor and had five rebounds.

A November to Remember
Coastal Carolina had great success in the month of November. The Chanticleers went 5-2, which included wins over Southern Conference opponents College of Charleston and Elon and a win against Missouri Valley Conference foe Indiana State. Also, the two losses were to 2009 NCAA Tournament teams in Duke and Cal State Northridge. The Chants led the Big South in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin in the first month of the season.

Harris, Greenwood Sweep Big South Weekly Awards
Coastal Carolina redshirt-senior forward Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C.) was named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men's Basketball Player of the Week, while Chanticleers' guard Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio) was named The Crons Brand Freshman of the Week for games played Nov. 23-29, it was announced by the Conference office. Harris averaged 21.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games, leading Coastal Carolina to a 2-1 mark. He started the week scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 77-62 win over Indiana State. Harris went 13-of-14 from the free throw line and connected on his first career three-pointer in the win. He also had a blocked shot and two steals as Coastal defeated a Missouri Valley Conference member for the first time in school history. Harris then had 20 points and eight rebounds in a seven-point loss to 2009 NCAA Tournament team Cal State-Northridge, in addition to two steals and two assists. He ended his week with 22 points, 13 rebounds and four steals against Allen and became Coastal Carolina's all-time leading rebounder in the win. Greenwood scored in double figures in all three games and averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the win over Indiana State, in addition to two assists and four steals against the Sycamores. Greenwood then added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists vs. Cal State-Northridge, and concluded the week with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists Saturday against Allen.

Chants Receive Votes In Mid-Major Poll
The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team, fresh off a 9-2 start to the 2009-10 season, received votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll Dec. 14. The Chanticleers are one of two Big South schools to receive votes in the poll. The Chants received 21 votes in the poll. Gonzaga leads the Mid-Major poll, followed by Butler in the second spot. Northern Iowa, St. Mary's and Cornell round out the top-five, while Big South foe Radford received six votes.

Harris Hits 1,000 Points in His Career
Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) scored his 1,000th-career point Nov. 21 in a 99-56 win over Voorhees. His free throw with 18:36 left in the second half gave him the milestone. Harris is the 16th Chanticleer in school history to reach 1,000 points. He now is 13th in scoring and needs 21 points to pass Moses Sonko for the 12th spot.

Charity Stripe Kind for Chants vs. Indiana State
Coastal Carolina shot a sizzling 84.4 percent (27-of-32) from the free-throw line in its 77-62 win over Indiana State Nov. 23. At one point in the game, the Chants made their first 16 free throws and made 24 of their first 25 freebies. The Chants bumped their season free-throw mark to 67.5 percent. Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) was 13-of-14 from the line, while redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./South Carolina) was 6-of-7. It was the most free throws in a single game by the Chants since Feb. 25, 2006 against Radford, when they hit 33 free throws.

Greenwood Looks Smooth in Indiana State Win
Freshman Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/New Creations (Ind.)) scored a career-high 17 points and added four steals in the 77-62 win over Indiana State Nov. 23. Greenwood was 7-of-12 from the field and had three rebounds and two assists.

Harris Back to Double-Double Mode
Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) returned to his double-double form, scoring 23 points and adding 15 rebounds in the 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17. Harris was 11-of-17 from the field and 14 of his 15 rebounds were on the defensive end. It was his second double-double of the season and he now has 38 in his career after the Georgia Southern game.

Block Party vs. Elon
Coastal Carolina had eight blocked shots in its 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17. Redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had five blocks in the win, which was a career high and the most by a Chanticleer in over 10 years. Coastal now has 57 blocked shots in 11 games.

Harris Named Big South Co-Player of the Week
Coastal Carolina redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) was named the Big South Conference's Co-Men's Basketball Player of the Week Nov. 16. Harris recorded his 31st career double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds in the Chanticleers' 70-59 win over SoCon South Division preseason favorite College of Charleston Friday night. Harris went 9-of-17 from the floor, grabbed six of his 17 rebounds on the offensive front, and added four steals, an assist and blocked shot. It was his 13th consecutive double-double, dating back to last season.

Rebounding Key to Early-Season Success
Coastal Carolina outrebounded Elon 45-26 Nov. 17 in its 69-46 win over the Phoenix. Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) and redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had 15 and 11 rebounds, respectively, in the win. Coastal Carolina now is averaging 42.3 rebounds a game, has a +10.5 rebounding margin and tops the Big South in two of the three rebounding categories.

Edwards Hit the 20-Point Mark
Senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) scored 20 points in the 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17, which is the third time that Edwards has reached the 20-plus point mark in his career. Edwards averaged 13.5 points per game in the NIT Season Tip-Off after he went 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the win.

A Game of Runs
Coastal Carolina started the game against #9 Duke with a 6-0 run, as a backdoor layup from redshirt-senior Logan Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn./South Doyle) and dunks from redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) and senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) were mixed with four Duke turnovers. The Chants, though, went 7:28 in the first half without scoring as Duke took a 33-19 halftime lead. Coastal would cut that lead to 10 at the start of the second half on layups from Johnson and McLaurin, but Duke would outscore the Chants 41-30 in the second half for the 25-point win.

Edwards Provides Spark for Coastal at Duke
Senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) scored a team-high 12 points and had five rebounds and a steal against #9 Duke Nov. 16. Edwards was 2-of-5 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He now is averaging 15.0 points per game against ACC schools in his career.

Chants Score Hustle Points in CofC Win
Coastal Carolina outrebounded the College of Charleston 49-30, scored 17 second-chance points and had 20 points off Cougar turnovers in the 70-59 win Nov. 13. Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) had 17 rebounds, while redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had five offensive boards.

Nieman Impresses in Opener
Freshman Danny Nieman (Concord, N.C./Hargrave Military) scored seven points, had three steals and ran the point for 22 minutes in his first game as a collegian, the 70-59 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 13. The Chants outscored the Cougars by 21 points with Nieman in the lineup.

Gray Makes His Chant Debut
Redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./South Carolina) made his debut in a Chanticleer uniform in the 70-59 win over the College of Charleston. He scored 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field. He also grabbed eight rebounds, had a blocked shots and two emphatic dunks in the final minutes of the win.

Harris Named to the Preseason All-Big South Team
Redshirt senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) was named to the Preseason All-Big South Team, it was announced Oct. 13 at the League's annual Media Day. Harris also has been named to the All-Big South Teams by Lindy's, Blue Ribbon and the Sporting News. Harris, an All-Big South First Team selection last year, averaged 15.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09. He had a streak of 11 straight double-doubles for the Chanticleers and had 19 total his redshirt-junior season. Harris had career highs of 33 points and 22 rebounds in the 100-97 win over VMI Feb. 14. He also became the seventh player in Big South history to pull down 600 rebounds, have 100 steals and dish out 100 assists in a career. Harris is on track to become the second player in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career. Art Parakhouski of Radford was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, while Jamarco Warren of Charleston Southern, Grayson Flitner of Gardner-Webb, Joey Lynch-Flohr of Radford and Nick Barbour of High Point joined Harris on the Preseason All-Big South Team.

Chants Picked Eighth in Big South Preseason Poll
Coastal Carolina's men's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, announced Oct. 13 at the League's annual Media Day. Radford was picked to win the Big South Conference, garnering 23 of 24 first-place votes and 239 points overall. UNC Asheville was picked to finish second with 191 points. Winthrop earned a first-place vote and 179 points overall for third place, while Gardner-Webb was picked to finish fourth with 130 points. VMI (125 points) and High Point (124 points) were fifth and sixth, respectively, while Liberty was seventh with 119 points. That was one point ahead of the Chanticleers, who received three third-place and three fourth-place votes. Charleston Southern (53 points) and Presbyterian (42 points) rounded out the poll.

Chants Add Three New Assistants to Staff
Coastal Carolina adds three new assistants to the coaching staff for the 2009-10 season. Associate Head Coach Don Hogan heads to Conway after spending the last 16 seasons as head coach at West Florida. Hogan was Cliff Ellis' first recruit at South Alabama and the duo also were on the same staff at Clemson from 1984-89. Gus Hauser comes to Coastal after spending the last two seasons at Louisiana-Monroe. Hauser also worked on Reggie Theus' staff at New Mexico State and with Rick Pitino at Louisville. Richie Riley joins the Chanticleer staff after spending three seasons at Pikeville College in Kentucky. He was the recruiting coordinator for Pikeville for three seasons, where he was named a top-five recruiter by the website RecruitingRumors.com. Director of Basketball Operations Jimbo Tolbert returns for his third season on Coach Ellis' staff, while David Long comes on as the graduate head manager.

Two Publications Pick Chants Third in Big South
Both the Sporting News and the Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook have chosen Coastal Carolina to finish third in its preseason publication. Sporting News chose the Chants to finish behind Radford and Winthrop and had redshirt senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) on its All-Big South team. Blue Ribbon picked the Chants to finish behind Radford and UNC Asheville and also had Harris on its preseason All-Big South Team. The publication also had freshman Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods (New Creations (Ind.)) as its Big South Newcomer of the Year.

Ellis High On Active Division I Career Wins List Head Coach
Cliff Ellis is tied for 13th in Division I wins by an active coach. Here is a list of the top 20 active coaches in Division I wins.
1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) 841
2. Jim Calhoun (Connecticut) 811
3. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) 809
4. Bob Huggins (W. Virginia) 646
5. Tom Penders (Houston) 634 6
. Gary Williams (Maryland) 631
7. Homer Drew (Valparaiso) 606
8. Roy Williams (N. Carolina) 602
9. Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) 584
10. Mike Montgomery (Cal) 575
11. Larry Hunter (W. Carolina) 569
12. Rick Byrd (Belmont) 568
13. Ben Braun (Rice) 567
Cliff Ellis (Coastal Carolina) 567
15. Pat Douglass (UC Irvine) 564
16. Rick Pitino (Louisville) 558
17. Bobby Cremins (CofC) 524
18. Stew Morrill (Utah State) 491
19. Dave Bike (Sacred Heart) 485
20. Rick Barnes (Texas) 481

Kimbel Has Its Advantages
Coastal Carolina's Kimbel Arena may seat just over 1,000 fans, but it has been large for the Chanticleers the last six seasons. Coastal Carolina is 38-6 (86.4 percent) since the start of the 2002-03 season in non-conference games at Kimbel. Coastal Carolina had a stellar 14-1 overall record at home in 2005-06, the most home victories since the program went Division I for the 1985-86 season. CCU is also 73-27 (73.0 percent) overall at the Conway campus venue in the last seven years.

Coach Ellis Can Be Seen and Heard
Head Coach Cliff Ellis will have a radio and television show for the third straight season. The Cliff Ellis Show can be seen on WPDE-TV Channel 15 at 12 p.m., on Sunday's during the basketball season. The Chanticleer Call-In for basketball will start Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Logan's Roadhouse in the Coastal Grand Mall. Matt Hogue will be the host for the hour-long show, which will take place Dec. 1 and 8; Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16 and 23 and March 9 if the Chants make the NCAA Tournament. The call-in number for questions to Coach Ellis is 877-264-5371.

Chanticleers in the Pros
Former Coastal Carolina men's basketball players Pele Paelay and Moses Sonko are playing professionally in Europe this season. Paelay currently is averaging 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for Etoile Charleville-Mezieres in France. Sonko is averaging 14.7 points and 4.4 rebounds a contest for Aix-Maurienne Savoie Basket in France.

Up Next
Coastal Carolina hosts Cornell College Sunday, Dec. 27 at 3 p.m., in Kimbel Arena.