Chants Look To Extend Win Streak Saturday Against ECU
12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2010
Coastal Carolina (8-2) vs. East Carolina (7-3)
Saturday | 12.18.10 | 12:30 p.m.
Myrtle Beach, S.C. | Myrtle Beach Convention Center (4,796)
MEDIA
Live Stats: www.GoCCUSports.com
Live Radio: Chanticleer Sports Network (Matt Hogue, play-by-play)
CONWAY, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina men's basketball looks to extend its winning streak to seven games when the Chants host East Carolina Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Coastal Carolina (8-2) won its sixth straight game in impressive fashion Monday night when the Chants upset LSU 78-69 in overtime to win the program's first road game against a BCS school since 1993. Senior forward Chad Gray scored a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Gray hit a career-high four three-pointers, which included back-to-back treys in overtime to help the Chants outscore the Tigers 14-5 in the extra session. Junior Desmond Holloway added 18 points and seven rebounds and has scored at least 13 points in every game this season.
Senior Mike Holmes made his debut for the Chants and failed to disappoint the Coastal faithful. Holmes turned in a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two rejections.
Holloway continues to serve as the offensive catalyst for the Chants thus far this season. The Indianapolis, Ind., native is first on the team and second in the Big South with 18.4 points per game, while ranking first on the team and eighth in the league with 7.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Holloway paces the conference with a .847 shooting percentage from the free throw line.
Gray is second on the team and 13th in the league with 12.9 points per game and is averaging 22.3 points per game over his last three games. Gray also pulls down 5.0 rebounds per game and is second in the Big South with a .570 field goal percentage.
Sophomore guard Kierre Greenwood pours in 9.7 points per game and leads the Chants with 34 assists this season. Greenwood ranks eighth in the Big South in assists with 3.40 helpers per game.
East Carolina (7-3) enters the weekend having won five of its last six games following a 2-2 start to the season. The Pirates saw their five-game winning streak snapped, however, in their most recent game. In that game, East Carolina fell at home to Old Dominion 81-68 to suffer its first home loss of the season. Saturday's game will be the first true road game of the season for East Carolina. The Pirates have played seven home games and three neutral games this season. In fact, East Carolina took part in the Charleston Classic earlier this season, but did not face Coastal Carolina during the tournament.
Individually, East Carolina is led by the 12.3 points per game of senior guard Jontae Sherrod. Fellow senior guard Jamar Abrams is second on the team with 11.1 points per game, while junior forward Darrius Morrow pours in 10.6 points per game. Morrow also leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game, while senior guard Brock Young has tallied a team-leading 40 assists thus far this season.
Coastal Carolina and East Carolina will be meeting on the hardwood for the seventh time when the two teams tipoff Saturday afternoon inside the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The Pirates are 4-2 all-time against Coastal and have won two of the last three meetings between the schools. Coastal, however, won the last game between the two when the Chants posted a 63-55 win in 2008 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Coastal is also 2-1 all-time at home against East Carolina.
