CONWAY, S.C. – Rudi Williams scored 18 points and Vince Cole added 15 as Coastal Carolina pulled away in the second half for a 66-42 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in a first-round game of The Basketball Classic Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
Williams scored 14 of his points in the second half, including the first nine points for his team as the Chanticleers broke the contest open with a 15-3 run to start the period.
Ebrima Dibba added 11 points for Coastal, which improved to 17-13 on the season.
Coastal now advances to the second round of the postseason tournament, presented by ERACISM that honors former legends of the game at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Kevon Voyles scored 12 points to lead UMES, which concluded its season at 11-16.
"Defense was the key that gave us the chance to win," said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis, whose team held UMES to its lowest scoring total of the season. "We were a little rusty. You could tell we haven't played for almost two weeks. Our defense proved to be just a bit better than theirs. We got the win and that's the bottom line."
After three ties and five lead changes, Cole hit a three-pointer to get the Chants started on a 12-1 run to close the first half, giving the home team a seven-point lead at 27-20 at the break. Coastal never trailed the rest of the way. Dibba had five points in the run, while Maryland-Eastern Shore went without a bucket over the last four minutes of the period. Cole led all scorers at the half with eight points.
In addition to the 15-2 run to open the second half, Coastal finished with a 14-5 scoring outburst that gave the Chanticleers their largest lead of 24 points at the game's end. Dibba concluded the scoring with a driving layup with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Williams, who was voted the game's MVP, was 6-of-12 from the field and hit three three-pointers. Cole was 6-of-15 from the field with a pair of buckets from behind the arc. Coastal shot 43 percent from the field for the game (25-of-57). The Chants also outrebounded the Hawks, 44-38, with Wilfried Likayi grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Essam Mostafa, the team's leading rebounder on the season, had seven boards.
The Championship game of the Basketball Classic is set for March 31, with all games scheduled for college campus sites. The Chanticleers will now move into the next round with the opponent to be announced at a later date.
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.
