CONWAY, S.C. – Rudi Williams scored game-high 23 points for Coastal Carolina, but it wasn't enough as Orlando Robinson scored 20 points to lead Fresno State, which withstood a late comeback attempt by the Chanticleers to earn an 85-74 win in the championship game of The Basketball Classic Friday night at the HTC Center. The postseason tournament was conducted by ERACISM and honored former legends of the game at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
 
Robinson, a 7'0" junior, was one of five players in double figures for the Bulldogs, who finished the season at 23-13. Joining Robinson, who also had 14 rebounds and was named the tournament MVP, were Destin Whitaker with a career-high 18 points, Leo Colimerio and Jordan Campbell with 13 apiece, and Isaiah Hill with 12.
 
Williams, who also collected seven rebounds as a 6'3" guard, was helped by Wilfried Likayi, a 6'7" leaper, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. Vince Cole, Josh Uduje and Garrick Green finished with eight points each. Ebrima Dibba and Essam Mostafa added six points apiece. Coastal ended its season 19-14, and for the second consecutive season lost in the title game of a postseason tournament. Coastal placed Williams, Cole and Dibba on the all-tournament team.
 
Fresno State looked to have the game comfortably in hand until Coastal mustered a late 13-4 run to make the score 77-70 with 2:08 remaining. However, the Chants couldn't get any closer as Fresno State held off the late comeback attempt by hitting 8-of-9 free throws down the stretch.
 
"We dug a big hole for ourselves in the first half, but we didn't quit," said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. "Fresno State is a very good team, and they made their free throws down the stretch. It was their three-point shots that hurt us in the first half. This was not a team that was known for its three-point prowess, but Whitaker hitting 5-of-5 in the first half was big. I'm proud of this team. We did a lot of good things."
 
Fresno State led by double digits from the midway point of the first half, and the Bulldogs were up by 16, at 73-57, when Likayi started Coastal's late rally with a free throw. He tossed in a couple three-pointers at the end of the 13-4 run to pull the Chants within 77-70. But the rally ended there.
 
Fresno State set the tone from the beginning as Whitaker hit a three-pointer to cap the Bulldogs' 13-1 start. Coastal found enough momentum for an 8-0 run to close the gap to 15-12 before the Bulldogs put together a string of three-pointers to break on top by 20, at 44-24, with two minutes left in the first half. Whitaker did most of the damage, hitting on each of his five shots from beyond the arc, leading the Bulldogs on a hot-shooting streak where they made 10-of-14 long range attempts in the half. Whitaker led all scorers with 15 at the break, and Fresno State held a commanding 47-29 lead. Williams led Coastal with 11 points in the first 20 minutes, but the Chants were only 2-of-10 from three-point range.
 
Coastal improved to finish 8-of-28 from beyond the arc and held Fresno State to just four three-pointers in the second half. Williams had four of his team's long-range makes and went 7-of-17 from the field. Whitaker added a sixth three-pointer in the second half (without a single miss) while none of his Fresno State teammates made more than two. The taller Bulldog squad, which had a front line of two 7-footers, was outrebounded by Coastal 38-37.
 
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