Conway, S.C. – Junior guard Jon Sanders came off the bench to score 14 points to lead Coastal Carolina, but it wasn't enough as North Carolina Central weathered a second half rally by the Chants and earned a 70-58 win in a non-conference game Sunday afternoon at the HTC Center.
 
The guard duo of Po'Boigh King and Ja'Darius Harris each scored 21 points to lead the North Carolina Central, which led nearly all the way in improving to 4-4 on the season. The Eagles led by 17 before Coastal used a 13-2 scoring spree early in the second half to trim the Eagles' lead to 44-39. Coastal also had two empty possessions that would have cut into the lead even more before King and Harris made sure the Chants couldn't get any closer. The Eagles then closed the door by making 12-of-14 free throws in the final three minutes.
 
Sanders, whose 14 points were a season-high, got scoring help from guard Jacob Meyer, who scored 13, and center John Ojiako, who added 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. With the loss, the CCU slipped to 1-4 in the young season.
 
"They pressed us, and it rattled us. This is the first team that pressed us," said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. "But give them credit. They set the tone with their defense, and we didn't handle it. This team is going to figure it out. We fought and got the lead down, but you're not going to beat many teams when you shoot just 3-of-23 from the three-point line."
 
Coastal scored the first bucket, but the rest of the first half belonged to King and North Carolina Central. King scored four points in a 12-0 run that put the Eagles in front, 22-10, and he closed the period with consecutive buckets in the final minute to help boost NC Central to a 38-21 advantage at the break. The sophomore guard led all scorers with 13 points in the half.
 
Ojiako had eight points and six rebounds for Coastal in the first period, and Sanders added six points. The two combined to make 5-of-7 from the field, but the rest of the team was just 3-of-19 at the halfway point.
 
Coastal improved a bit to finish 21-of-53 from the field (39.6 percent), including 13-of-27 in the second half (48 percent). Ojiako finished 5-of-6 from the field, while Sanders was 5-of-10 in nearly 30 minutes of action.
 
Coastal has a short turn-around before hosting USC Upstate at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, followed by three more home games in eight days, beginning with Winthrop at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, St. Andrews at 7 p.m. ET Dec. 4 and Wofford at 2 pm. ET Dec. 9.
 
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.