Game Notes

CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will put its' two-game winning streak on the line when they travel to Rock Hill, S.C., to face long-time rival Winthrop University on Saturday night.
 
The two teams will meet on the hardcourt for the 83rd time Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. The game will represent CCU's second road game of the season with the game being played at the Winthrop Coliseum.
 
Coastal holds a slim 42-40 edge in the series, but have not fared so well at Winthrop as the Eagles have a 28-13 record against the Chants on their home court.
 
Winthrop has won six of the last 10 meetings including the last time they met back in February of 2016 as the Eagles defeated CCU 79-67 in Rock Hill. It was the last game between the two teams with CCU being a member of the Big South Conference.
 
Winthrop enters the game with a 4-4 record and is coming off a strong showing at Duke in an 83-70 loss to the nationally-ranked Blue Devils.
 
DJ Burns leads a balanced Eagle scoring attack at 11.8 points per game. Josh Ferguson is the only other Eagle averaging double digits at 11.4 points per game. He is also the team's leader on the boards averaging 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Winthrop has eight players who are averaging six points or more this season as the Eagles are averaging over 77 points per game and shoot 46 percent from the field as a team.

The defense is where the Eagles thrive, holding their opponents to only 67.5 points per game and 40 percent field goal shooting. Once you miss a shot against Winthrop you rarely get a second chance as Winthrop averages just over 40 rebounds per contest.
 
The Chants will counter with an offense that has exploded this season and has averaged 103 points per game in the past two outings. CCU is averaging over 82 points per game and is shooting almost 48 percent from the field, which includes an impressive 41 percent on its three-point attempts.
 
Tyrell Gumbs-Frater has become one of the top three-point specialists in the country. He was the Sun Belt leader in three-point percentage last season and has built on that this season. The senior has hit 14 of his last 21 threes (.667) and has connected on 31-of-54 (.574) long-range attempts this season. That figure has him leading the Sun Belt and is second in the nation. He leads the team averaging 15.8 points per game.
 
Fellow guard Keishawn Brewton is a solid three-point specialist in his own right. The junior college transfer is just behind Gumbs-Frater averaging 15.6 points per game and has knocked down 27 three's this season. He is also shooting 88 percent at the free throw line.
 
Sophomore DeVante' Jones seems to be back from a preseason injury that forced him to miss the first game of the season and parts of the next two. He is coming off back-to-back double-digit performances. He had his first double-digit performance in points and rebounds against Delaware State and followed that up with a points and assists double-digit performance against Greensboro last time out.
 
The Chants have two more players averaging double digits on the season with Garrick Green scoring at a 10.2 points per game pace and Tommy Burton at 10 points per outing. Both players are also the team leaders on the board with Burton's 6.3 per game leading the team and Green second at 5.7.
 
The game can be heard live on WRNN 99.5 FM with links for the video feed and live stats available online 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.