CONWAY, S.C. –
Jomaru Brown came off the bench and tied his career-high with 28 points and
Antonio Daye made a free throw with 4.6 seconds left to give the Chanticleers a thrilling 77-76 win over Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams Thursday night at the HTC Center.
Daye scored the final four points for Coastal, bringing his team back from a 76-73 deficit in the final minute. With the Chants trailing 76-73, Daye hit his only field goal of the game, a long three-pointer with 51 seconds left to even the score at 76.
After the made three-pointer, Louisiana came down the court where Themus Fulks took a shot that was off-target. As both teams went for the rebound, the ball went out of bounds and was awarded to the Ragin' Cajuns. However, after a review of the play, the call was reversed and the ball was given back to the Chants with 34 seconds left in the game.
On the resulting possession, Daye held the ball out front and as the shot clock wound down he dashed down the lane for a shot but was fouled on the play. After missing the first free throw, Daye made the second free throw giving CCU the one-point lead with 4.6 remaining on the game clock.
However, Louisiana's Fulks still had time to drive to the other end and take a three-point attempt, but it was blocked by Coastal's 6'8"
Jimmy Nichols, who finished the game with two blocked shots.
"That was a hard-fought win and a good team win," said Coastal head coach
Cliff Ellis. "Our offense really played well, and
Jomaru Brown played a great game. And
Antonio Daye made the right read on the open ball screen and drove to the basket to get fouled at the end."
Daye made the second of his two free throws, but it was enough to improve Coastal's record to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the Conference. Louisiana, which was paced by 6'11" Jordan Brown's 25 points, slipped to 10-3 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Louisiana used a 15-1 run early in the second half to take the lead for the first time and then stretched their lead to 10 at 69-59, with 4:40 remaining before Coastal started a late rally.
Jomaru Brown scored five points in a 7-0 run that brought the Chanticleers to within striking distance at 69-66 with just under four minutes left. He added four more points down the stretch before handing the scoring off to Daye in the final minute.
Coastal never trailed in the first half, using runs of 7-0 and 8-0 to take a 12-point lead at 29-17 with seven minutes left in the first period. Nichols sparked the first run with five points, while
Jomaru Brown had five points in the second run. Louisiana rallied late with eight consecutive points to trim the Coastal lead to three at the half at 38-35.
Jomaru Brown had 13 points for Coastal at the break, while Jordan Brown led the Ragin' Cajuns with 13 points.
Jomaru Brown was the only Coastal player in double figures, hitting on 9-of-13 shots, but the Chants had four players with eight points each in Likayi,
Essam Mostafa,
Josh Uduje and Nichols. Mostafa, a 6'9" junior who is averaging double figures in both points and rebounds on the season, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The Chants also had 14 assists on their 23 baskets, with point guard
Henry Abraham dishing out five assists.
Coastal did enough defensively too, holding Louisiana to just 5-of-22 (23 percent) from beyond the three-point line, well below its season average of 40 percent.
Coastal returns to the HTC Center on Saturday afternoon to face Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. ET. The Chants then begin the New Year with four road games before coming home again on Jan. 19 to host Appalachian State in a 7 p.m. ET tip-off.
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.
