Conway, S.C. – John Ojiako scored 19 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, but it was not enough as Coastal Carolina fell to North Carolina A&T 85-82 Thursday night at the HTC Center.
 
Ojiako led four Chanticleers in double digits as Jimmy Nichols came off the bench to score 14 points, while Kylan Blackmon and Jacob Meyer scored 13 each as the Chants fell to 3-8 during the pre-conference schedule.
 
North Carolina A&T also had four scorers to reach double figures led by Landon Glasper who scored a game-high 30 points with 20 of those coming in the first half.
 
Camian Shell chipped in with 17 points, while Uchenna Kellman-Nicholes added 12 and Jalel McKie came off the bench to score 11.
 
Led by Glasper, the Aggies held a 45-40 lead at the half only to see the Chants come out of the locker room and started the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 49-45 lead. From there the two teams battled back and forth with several runs between each team, highlighted by four ties and seven lead changes.
 
The score was even at 79 with 2:29 left in the game and the visitors outscored CCU 6-3 over those final minutes to put the game away, the Chants did have a final shot to tie the game, but the three-point attempt came up short.
 
CCU shot 51.6 percent from the field, but only managed seven three-point field goals in 25 attempts (28.0 percent) and only nine-of-16 (56.3 percent) at the free throw line.
 
The Aggies shot 47.8 percent from the field, but won the game on its three-point shooting, making 12 of its 29 attempts for 41.4 percent.
 
Coastal will now take a few days off for the Christmas holidays before jumping back into action on Saturday, Dec. 30, when they begin Sun Belt Conference action with the Troy Trojans at the HTC Center at 2 p.m. ET.
 
 
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.