March 1, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

CONWAY, S.C. - Chad Gray and Anthony Raffa scored 23 points and Coastal Carolina advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament following an 83-72 victory over Gardner-Webb Tuesday night from Kimbel Arena.

Raffa hit a career-high four 3-pointers and the Chanticleers finished 9-for-18 from beyond the arc and shot 54.9 percent from the field (28-of-51).

Sam McLaurin added 14 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to move into second place all-time at Coastal Carolina with 115 career rejections.

Brandon Crawford added a season-best 14 points, hit his first two three-pointers of the season, pulled down seven rebounds and tallied five assists to help the Chants hold a 19-14 edge in helpers.

Laron Buggs led Gardner-Webb with 18 points and seven assists, Jon Moore finished with 14 points and Stefon Johnson and Luke Davis each added 10 points apiece.

Coastal Carolina (27-4) led 71-67 with three minutes remaining before McLaurin hit three of his next four foul shots to push the Chanticleer lead to seven points. After a missed free throw from Buggs, Raffa hit a three-pointer from the wing as the shot clock horn sounded to put Coastal ahead 77-67 with 1:02 left

Luke Engelken answered with a three-pointer on the other end, but the Chanticleers went 4-for-4 from the free throw line over the final 42 seconds and McLaurin sealed the victory with a baseline dunk in the final seconds.

The Chants will face No. 4 seed VMI Thursday night at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.