Box Score STATESBORO, Ga. – John Ojiako tied his career-high with a game-high 20 points and grabbed another game-high nine rebounds, but it was not enough as the Chants fell at Georgia Southern 73-70 Thursday night at the Hanner Fieldhouse in Sun Belt Conference action.
The game featured 11 ties and seven lead changes, but the Eagles hit three free throws down the stretch to break open a tie game and CCU's final three was off the mark as CCU moved to 5-12 overall and 2-4 in the Sun Belt.
Jon Sanders added 13 joining Ojiako as the only Chants to reach double figures.
Braeden MacVicar scored nine points and
Kylan Blackmon and
Jacob Meyer added eight each.
Georgia Southern had four players reach double-digits led by Eren Banks who scored 19 points, but only five in the second half after scoring 14 in the opening 20 minutes.
Tyren Moore scored 17, while Avantae Parker scored 11 and Eugene Brown scored 10 as Georgia Southern moved to 3-15 overall and 3-3 in Sun Belt play.
Ojiako scored off an offensive rebound with 1:30 left in the game, but that would be the final points CCU would score.
Georgia Southern tied the game on a three-point field goal with 1:13 left in the game and Nate Bradford hit three free throws over the final 26 seconds of the game to provide the winning points.
Georgia Southern entered the game averaging 10 made three-point field goals and hit their average hitting 10 of its 26 three-point attempts and added 21 free throws.
The Chants only hit five threes on the game, and only shot 60.7 percent from the free throw line going 17-28.
The Chants will continue the current road trip as they make the trip to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 4:30 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.
