Game Notes

CONWAY – After taking a week off for finals the Coastal Carolina men's basketball team will be back on the court to host North Carolina Central Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.
 
It will be the fifth meeting between the two programs with the Chanticleers winning the first four, which includes last year's nail-biting 69-65 CCU victory.
 
While North Carolina Central enters the game 3-8, the Eagles have made appearances in the past three NCAA Tournaments and were picked to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in a preseason vote of the conference's head coaches and SIDs.
 
Jibri Blount leads the Eagles in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.3 points and nine rebounds per game. Randy Miller is the only other NCCU player to average double figures at 14.3 points per game.
 
NCCU enters the game coming off a record-performance in a 109-28 win over Christendom College on Wednesday night.
 
Saturday's game is the final non-conference action of the season for CCU as they look to improve on their 6-4 non-conference record and extend their current three-game winning streak.
 
Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week DeVante' Jones looks to have fully returned from his preseason injury that caused him to miss the first game of the season and most of the next two. He is coming off a performance against Winthrop that saw him match his career-high of 32 points in leading the Chants back from a 15-point second-half deficit to a big road win.
 
Following the injury to Ebrima Dibba, Jones has now taken on most of the point guard duties and has done an outstanding job. He has 50 assists heading into Saturday's contest which is tops in the Sun Belt as are his 5.6 assists per game.
 
Keishawn Brewton has become instant offense off the bench for the Chants. The junior leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game and has hit 33 three's which ties him for the team and conference lead.
 
Tyrell Gumbs-Frater continues to be one of the top three-point shooters not only in the conference but in the nation as well. His 55.9 three-point shooting percentage ranks number one in the Sun Belt and also among all NCAA Division I basketball players.
 
Gumbs-Frater is averaging 15.1 points per game and is shooting over 52 percent from the field on all his field goal attempts.
 
Tommy Burton has been the Chants best post player so far this season. The senior is averaging 10.1 points per game and leads CCU in rebounding at 5.9 per game. He is shooting just over 50 percent from the field and 74 percent at the free throw line. He is also the team's leader in steals with 14.
 
CCU's offense has done a good job of scoring this season and enters the game averaging 83.5 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the three-point line. After a sub-par effort in the opening game of the year from the free throw line, the Chants have seen their FT average slowly improve each game and are now shooting 70 percent on its charity tosses.
 
While the Chants offense seems to be clicking right now, they will have to do a good job on the offensive end of the court as the Eagles will come into the HTC Center holding their opposition to just 66.7 points per game.
 
Links for the live video and live stats for Saturday's matinee can be found at GoCCUsports.com.
 
For complete coverage of CCU men's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.