Game Notes (pdf)
CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will hit the road for its final two regular-season games, starting with a game at Appalachian State Saturday, Feb. 29 at 4:30 p.m., and at Louisiana, Tuesday, March 3 at 8 p.m. (ET).
The Chanticleers (14-15/7-11 Sun Belt) are playing for postseason position and enter the final two games tied for eighth-place in the Sun Belt standings with Louisiana.
Both games will have an impact on where the Chants will finish the regular season. App State is in sixth-place while Louisiana pulled even with the Chants in the standings with their win over Arkansas State Wednesday night.
Appalachian State (16-13/10-8 Sun Belt) is having its best season in recent year. The Mountaineers' 16 overall wins are already five more than they had all of last year and their 10 conference wins are four better than their six from a year ago.
App State boasts one of the top scorers in the conference in Justin Forrest. The junior guard averages a team-best 17.9 points per game which also makes him the second-leading scorer in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Mountaineers also have one of the top three-point shooters in the conference in senior guard O'Showen Williams. He averages 12.8 points per game, but is shooting 36 percent from beyond the three-point line and has made almost 60 treys.
Senior forward Isaac Johnson is the player that the Mountaineers go to around the basket. The 6'9" forward averages over 10 points per game and leads App in rebounding at 7.5 per game, which is tied for second in the conference.
While the Mountaineers have a balanced offensive attack which is averaging 68.3 points per game, it's on the defensive end of the court where App State is winning games. They allow only 66.6 points per game, second only behind Texas State's league-leading 63.7 points per game.
The opponents are only shooting 42 percent against App and are only shooting 32 percent from beyond the three-point line.
CCU will counter with its' explosive offense that averages almost 78 points per game and is led by Mr. Everything
DeVante' Jones and his 16.4 points per game average and his league-leading 155 assists and 5.5 assists per game average. Jones is also among the league leaders in field goal percentage (3rd); rebounding (20th); free throw percentage (2nd); assist/turnover ratio (6th); defensive rebounds (6th); and minutes played (14th).
Tommy Burton and his 11.6 points per game average has six double-doubles on the season. He is fourth in the conference in rebounding with a team-leading 7.4 per game and he is also shooting over 50 percent from the field.
CCU will also look to have
Tyrell Gumbs-Frater continue his torrid three-point shooting prowess he displayed against South Alabama when he scored 33 points and hit nine threes. He is averaging 11.1 points per game and leads the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage (.405).
CCU will need to figure out a way to beat the Mountaineers as App holds a 5-2 lead in the series and that includes a 78-58 win over CCU in Conway back on Jan. 25. The Chants are 0-3 at App State all-time while their only two wins in the series have come on the HTC Center court.
The game can be heard live on WRNN 99.5 FM with links for the video feed and live stats available 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.
