CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will host an opening round game of The Basketball Classic presented by Eracism, on Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. ET at the HTC Center. The opening-round opponent will be named at a later date.
The Basketball Classic is a 32-team tournament which will debut this March, creating another opportunity for student-athletes and fans to stay involved in a postseason basketball tournament and compete for a championship. The Basketball Classic field will be announced Sunday, March 13, and will begin on Monday, March 14, with the semifinals scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 and the championship game on Thursday, March 31.
The Classic will honor HBCU Legends with the opening games of the tournament with the CCU game honoring Zelmo Beaty, a two-time NAIA All-American during his collegiate career at Prairie View A&M University (1958-62).
Beaty averaged 25 points and 20 rebounds per game during his career and led the Panthers to an NAIA National Championship in 1962, while earning tournament MVP honors and setting a rebounding record with 96.
He was the third overall pick in the NBA draft and played 12 seasons of professional basketball in both the NBA and the ABA, averaging 20 points per game. He scored more than 15,000 points and grabbed 10,000 rebounds during his professional career.
The Chanticleers completed the 2021-22 season with a 16-13 overall record and had an 8-8 record during Sun Belt Conference play. Second-team All-Sun Belt pick
Vince Cole led the Chants on offense averaging over 15 points per game.
Rudi Williams averaged 13.9 points per game and
Essam Mostafa averaged 13.3 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. He completed the season with 12 double-doubles.
Tickets for the Basketball Classic are $15 each and will go on sale Friday, March 11. All season ticket holders can contact the Chanticleers Athletics Ticket Office for more information as your seats will be on hold for the game.
Wednesday's game 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.
