Final Box (pdf)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –
DeVante' Jones tied his career-high with 32 points and freshman
Tim Ceaser added a career-high 19, but it was not enough as the Chants fell 96-79 to league-leading Little Rock.
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CCU (11-11/4-7 Sun Belt) fell behind by as many as 26 points (61-35) only to come back and cut the lead to 13 twice in the second half, but could get no closer in the 17-point loss.
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Tommy Burton joined the duo in double-digits with 13 points as CCU finished the game only shooting 38 percent from the field and 17 percent on their three-point attempts.
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The Chanticleers battled the much-taller Trojans on the boards and actually out rebounded the conference leaders 44-37. Burton led the way with eight and Jones added seven.
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The game saw a total of 60 fouls called, with 35 of those on the Chanticleers. LR took advantage of their charity stripe visits knocking down 39-of-47 for 83 percent while CCU shot 67 percent, hitting 23-of-33.
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The Trojans (16-7/10-2 Sun Belt) had five players reach double-digits led by Marko Lukic who came off the bench to score 22. He scored 12 of his points at the free throw line. Ruot Monyyong added 17 and completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds.
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Marquis Nowell scored 14, with nine of those coming at the free throw line. LR's leading scorer was only 2-of-13 from the field. Nikola Maric also came off the bench to add 13 points and Kamani Johnson scored 11.
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LR carried a 58-35 lead into the locker room at halftime, largely by hitting 26-of-29 free throws in the first half. Lukic led the way with 16 points while Monyyong had 13 and Nowell scored 10.
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The Chants once again struggled from the field only shooting 27 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Jones led the way with 12 and Burton had 10.
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The Chants will continue their road swing through Arkansas when they face Arkansas State Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. E.T.
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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.
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