CONWAY, S.C. – Kevin Easley tallied a career-high 28 points to lead all five starters in double figures as Coastal Carolina registered an 85-83 overtime win over Georgia State at the HTC Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Chant trailed for almost 39 minutes of the 45-minute affair, and was down 55-42 with just under 12 minutes remaining before making their improbable comeback.
The Chants' only lead of the first half was at 10-9 at the 14:49 mark of the opening 20 minutes on a Jacob Meyer field goal, and that lead only lasted for 13 seconds. The Chants did not lead again until another field goal from Meyer gave the Chants a 77-75 lead with 3:36 left in overtime and the Chants did not trail again.
Easley picked up his points shooting 11-of-15 from the field and was six-of-eight at the free throw line. He was also one of three Chanticleers to register a double-double in grabbing another career-high in rebounds with 12. It was the second time this season he has reached the 20-point plateau after scoring 20 in the season-opener.
Meyer tied his career-high with 19 points and also picked up the first double-double of his collegiate career with a career-high 12 rebounds, while sophomore Ian Granja, making his first start as a Chanticleer, tied his career-high with 14 points including knocking down three three-point field goals in the second half as the Chanticleers battled back from its 13-point deficit.
Braeden MacVicar scored 12 points in the win, but none more important than the three free throws he hit with 18 seconds left to send the game into overtime after being fouled on a three-point attempt.
John Ojiako was limited in his playing time for the second consecutive game due to fouls, but did manage to scored 10 points and grab a game-high 15 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive end, before fouling out with just over one-minute left in overtime. It was his 12th double-double of the season.
The Chants finished the game shooting 40.5 percent (30-74) from the field and only 20.7 percent (6-29) on its three-point field goals. CCU did make five of its 12 three-point attempts in the second half. The Chants were strong at the free throw line making 73.1 percent (19-26).
Led by the three double-digits rebounders, the Chants won the rebounding battle 49-41 and outscored the Panthers 44-32 in the paint as CCU moved to 6-14 overall and 3-6 in the Sun Belt.
Dwon Odom was unstoppable for the Panthers in recording a game-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. Lucas Taylor scored 14 points, while Toneari Land chipped in with 13 as Georgia State falls to 9-11 overall and 4-5 in the Sun Belt.
Coastal will now play a season-long three consecutive road games starting with a Feb. 1 date at James Madison at 7 p.m. ET. CCU will then face Marshall in Huntington, W.V. on Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. ET, and end the three-game road trip at ULM on Feb. 7 at 7:30 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.
