CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will be back on the court to host a pair of games on back-to-back days as Methodist visits the HTC Center on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. ET, and Regent will play CCU on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.
CCU enters the two games coming off a 60-59 win over Wofford last Sunday, while Methodist is 1-10 and Regent is 2-9.
These two games will end the present six-game homestand, which has seen CCU win three of the four games so far.
COASTAL vs. METHODIST HISTORY
Wednesday's action against Methodist will be the sixth time the two teams have met. CCU owns a 5-0 record in the series which began back during the 1977-78 season. It was the closest outcome in the series history with the Chants winning 80-78. The two teams have not met since 2018 when CCU beat the Monarchs 88-57.
COASTAL vs. REGENT HISTORY
Thursday's action against Regent will be the first meeting between the two programs.
ABOUT COASTAL
Sophomore
Essam Mostafa picked up his fourth double-double of the season and the 13th of his career with his 24-point, 13-rebound performance in CCU's slim 60-59 victory over Wofford on Sunday. He leads the team and is third in the Sun Belt in scoring at 16.9 points per game. His 10.1 rebounds per game average leads both CCU and the Sun Belt.
Junior
Ebrima Dibba is coming off his two best games of the season. After picking up a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists against Mercer last week, he followed with a 12-point, six-assist outing in the win over Wofford. He accounted for the game-winning two points in the 60-59 win over Wofford with two free throws with one second remaining in the game. He is averaging 9.6 points per game but leads CCU and the Sun Belt in both total assists with 47 and assists per game with 5.9.
Transfers
Rudi Williams and
Vince Cole are CCU's other double-digit scorers with the duo averaging 14.8 and 11.4, respectively.
ABOUT METHODIST
In what has been an unusual start for the Monarchs, Methodist is having trouble scoring baskets. They are only averaging 63 points per game through their first 11 games of the season. Dante Burden leads the team in scoring at16.7 points per game, while both Kevin McLaughlin and Chris George both are averaging 11.8 points per game.
The majority of Methodist's games this season have been decided by three possessions or less, as their defense has kept the Monarchs close. They have held their opponents to only 68.7 points per game and have forced 180 turnovers. They also averaging 8.6 steals per game.
ABOUT REGENT
Like Methodist, Regent has struggled on the offensive end of the court so far this season. The Royals are only averaging 48.2 points per game while shooting 34.8 percent from the field. The Royals are shooting just 26.2 percent from beyond the three-point line and only 58.6 percent at the free throw line.
Randolph "Tre" Holland is their leading scorer averaging 8.7 points per game. Markell Riggins is next with 6.5 points per game, while Joakim Joseph averages 5.7 points per game.
The games can be heard on WRNN 99.5 Hot Talk and watched live on ESPN+. Links for both along with live stats can be found at
www.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 www.GoCCUSports.com.
