CONWAY, S.C. – Rudi Williams scored 24 points and Essam Mostafa added 23 points as Coastal used a late run to pull away for a surprising 84-68 win over Florida Gulf Coast in a quarterfinal game of The Basketball Classic Monday night at the HTC Center. The postseason tournament is conducted by ERACISM and honors former legends of the game at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
 
Williams and Mostafa were just two of Coastal's five players in double figures, as the Chanticleers used an 18-2 run in the closing minutes to advance to the semifinal round of the tournament and improve to 18-13 on the season. Vince Cole added 15 points for the Chants, while Wilfried Likayi and Ebrima Dibba had 10 points apiece.
 
Tavian Dunn-Martin led FGCU with 17 points, but the loss ended the Eagles' season at 22-12.
 
Mostafa, a 6'10" sophomore, played his best game of the season in collecting his 13th double-double and meeting the challenge of playing against Kevin Samuel, a former Big-12 defensive player of the year while at TCU. Mostafa led Coastal with 14 rebounds. Likayi collected 12 for his third double -double of the year.
 
"That was one of the best games we played all year," said a pleased Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. "Essam (Mostafa) met the challenge tonight and had a great game. That was just a good win for us. And now we're two wins away from a postseason championship. That's a good thing."
 
After eight lead changes, Coastal took the lead for good when Williams hit a three-pointer to give the Chants a 50-48 lead midway through the second half. It was still anyone's game with five minutes to go, with Coastal hanging on to a 64-60 advantage. But then the home team exploded to the finish line. First it was a 9-0 run, and after a bucket by FGCU, the Chanticleers added another 9-0 run, putting the game out of reach at 82-62 with a minute remaining.
 
Mostafa had a near-perfect start to his night, hitting his first four shots from close range to pace Coastal to an early 15-7 lead. In contrast, Dunn-Martin started slowly but had six points in Florida Gulf Coast's 12-2 run that lifted the Eagles into a 26-21 advantage. Williams countered with seven consecutive points for his team to bring the Chants to within a point at 29-28 before Dunn-Martin hit a two three-pointers in the final minute to give the Eagles a 40-34 advantage at the half. Mostafa and Williams each had 11 points in the first period for CCU, while Dunn-Martin had 12 points for FGCU.
 
Coastal finished the night hitting on 33-of-70 shot attempts (47 percent), with Mostafa going 11-of-18 and Williams making 8-of-15. Dibba was 3-of-5 from the field, but the floor general also dished out a team-high nine assists and grabbed six rebounds.

Coastal also held a 46-31 rebounding advantage, while the Coastal front line held the 6'11" Samuel to just six points and six rebounds.
 
Coastal will advance to the semifinal round with the opponent and location 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.