Final Box (pdf)
BOONE, N.C. –
DeVante' Jones scored a game-high 26 points to lead Coastal Carolina to an 84-77 win over Appalachian State. It was the first time CCU had defeated App on its home court in series history.
It was a game which saw five ties and eight lead changes, but it was a Jones three with three seconds left in the first half to put the Chants in the lead for good.
In the second half CCU methodically pushed the lead out to 19 (73-54) with 4:04 left in the game. But the home-standing Mountaineers would not go away out scoring CCU 22-7 over the next three minutes to cut CCU's lead to 80-76 with 28 seconds left in the game. Jones would then hit four consecutive free throws to ice the game for the Chants.
Tyrell Gumbs-Frater came off the bench to score 17 points, including knocking down five three-pointers as CCU (15-15/9-11 Sun Belt) shot 52 percent from the field. Led by Gumbs-Frater and Jones, who hit four three-pointers, the Chants knocked down 11 of its three-point attempts for 44 percent. While CCU only attempted 18 free throws, they hit 13 for just over 72 percent.
Malik LeGania scored 14 points and
Tommy Burton added 10. Jones had a game-high nine assists and another game-high five steals.
The Chants defense held the Mountaineers (16-14/10-9 Sun Belt) to only 40 percent shooting and only 26 percent on their three-point attempts. App State was able to stay in the game at the free throw line where they attempted 35 free throws making 25 for 71 percent.
O'Showen Williams led App State with 19 points and Isaac Johnson added 17. Hunter Seacat scored 13, Justin Forrest had 11 and Kendall Lewis scored 10.
The Chants took a slim 36-33 lead into the locker room at halftime led by Jones 12 first-half points. CCU shot 56 percent from the field and hit five of their 13 three-point field goals.
Burton and LeGania added six points while Gumbs-Frater and
Levi Cook came off the bench to score five points each.
The Mountaineers got nine points from Isaac Johnson and eight from Hunter Seacat. App State shot 44 percent from the field hit four of its 13 three-point field goals. App State was able to get to the free throw line more than CCU and hit all nine of its attempts.
The Chants will end the regular season with another road game when they play at Louisiana Tuesday, March 3 with the game scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. (ET).
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.