CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will continue its run in Sun Belt Conference action as the Chanticleers will hit the conference road for the first time this season.
The Chants will open up their road action at Troy University on Thursday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m. ET. CCU will end the road trip at South Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 4 p.m. ET.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chanticleers are entering the weekend with a 9-5 overall record and 1-1 ledger in Sun Belt Conference action. The road has not been kind to CCU thus far this season, as the Chants are looking for their first true road win of the year.
Essam Mostafa continues to be the team's leader in scoring (16.3 ppg) and in rebounding (10.1 rpg). He is working on eight double-doubles on the season and has 17 during his short career.
Vince Cole is coming off an outstanding week for the Chants, averaging 16 points per game over the three games last weekend, and is averaging 13 points per game overall, while
Rudi Williams continues to be the team's second-leading scorer averaging 13.9 points per game.
Junior
Ebrima Dibba broke his single-game assist record when he recorded 12 in the Chants' 30-point win over ULM to open the Sun Belt season. He is averaging over six assists per game which not only leads the Sun Belt Conference but is also 10th in the nation.
COASTAL vs. TROY HISTORY
This series has been one of runs for both teams. While the Chants hold an 8-5 overall lead in the series, the Trojans won five of the first seven games in the series. The Chants have won six consecutive games, including five just last season.
Like the Chants, Troy enters play this week after splitting their first weekend of Sun Belt games. Troy is 10-5 overall with the 10 overall wins tied with South Alabama and Arkansas State for the most games among conference teams.
Troy was picked in the bottom half of the conference in the preseason coach's poll, as CCU was picked to finish seventh and Troy in ninth.
Troy has two players reaching double digits, as Efe Odigie leads the team averaging 11.2 points per game, while Duke Deen is averaging 10.1 points per contest.
COASTAL vs. SOUTH ALABAMA HISTORY
Coastal Carolina holds a slim 8-6 edge in the series with the Jaguars, but USA has won the last two games in the series. South Alabama enters the weekend with a 10-4 overall record and is 0-1 in conference action.
South Alabama averages just over 75 points per game and has two of the top scorers in the Sun Belt led by the conference's leading scorer Charles Manning at 17.9 points per game. Jay Chandler is the league's fifth-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game.
Head coach
Cliff Ellis will make another return trip to USA after serving as the Jags head coach from 1975-84. Over his nine years at USA, he compiled a 171-84 record and won the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honor in 1979.
Both games can be heard on WRNN 99.5 Hot Talk and watched live on ESPN+. Links for both contests 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.
