CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball program will take to the road for two Sun Belt Conference games when they play at James Madison, Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. ET, and at Marshall, Saturday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m. ET.
These are the first two games of a season-long three-game road trip for the Chants.
LAST TIME OUT
CCU was able to fight back from a 13-point second half deficit to defeat Georgia State 85-83 in overtime. For the first time in recorded CCU men's basketball history, the Chants had three players to record double-doubles.
Kevin Easley led the way with a career-high 28 points and another career-high 12 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season.
Freshman
Jacob Meyer picked up his first double-double by scoring 19 points, which tied his career high, and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds, while
John Ojiako, who played limited minutes due to foul trouble, recorded his Sun Belt Conference-best 12th double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Chants also had all five starters to score in double digits as
Ian Granja, making his first career start, scored 14 points and another freshman
Braeden MacVicar added 12, including three free throws with 18 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
THE SERIES
vs. James Madison
This will be the fourth game between the two programs with James Madison winning the previous three games. The series actually started back in 1987 in Harrisonburg, Va., a 100-95 JMU victory.
The programs did not meet again until last season as JMU joined the Sun Belt Conference with the Dukes winning both contests in close games. A 75-69 win on its home court, and a 73-66 win in Conway.
All three games have been close affairs with 18 total points representing the margin of victory in the three games.
vs. Marshall
Marshall and CCU have only met twice on the hardcourt and that was last season after the Thundering Herd joined the Sun Belt Conference. Marshall won both of those games starting with an 81-66 win in Huntington, W.Va., and defeating CCU 92-74 in Conway.
ABOUT THE CHANTS
CCU enters the week with a 6-14 record overall and 3-6 in Sun Belt Conference action, and are presently tied for 10th in the conference with South Alabama and ULM.
Meyer leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and is tied for second on the team averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. He is also second in assists with 50 and in steals with 22.
Ojiako continues to average a double-double on the season with 12.7 points per game and a Sun Belt Conference-leading 10.6 rebounds per game, while
Kylan Blackmon is averaging 10.0 points per game.
With Easley's recent run of 46 points over the past two games, he has pushed his average back up to 9.9 points per game and is now shooting 45.4 percent from the field.
ABOUT JAMES MADISON
The Dukes were picked to win the conference in a preseason vote of the Sun Belt Conference head coaches. They enter the week in a four-way tie for third in the Sun Belt with a 6-3 record, but their 18 total wins is a conference-best.
Their 85.1 points per game scoring average leads the Sun Belt, and the defense is not bad either, as its 69.4 scoring defense is second in the conference only trailing Appalachian State's 64.3 scoring defense.
JMU boasts two of the top scorers in the SBC with Terrence Edwards ranking third in conference scoring at 17.1 points per game and TJ Bickerstaff is 13th averaging 13.9 points per game.
ABOUT MARSHALL
Marshall is one of the teams tied with JMU at 6-3 in the conference. After winning six of its last nine games and nine of 13, the Herd has moved to 11-11 overall after a 2-7 start to the season.
Marshall's offense is beginning to hit its stride as four players have moved into double-digit scoring led by Obinna Anochili-Killen and his 16.3 points per game average, while Kamdyn Curfman has a team-high 66 three-point field goals and is averaging 14.1 points per game.
Kevon Voyles is averaging 12.7 points per game followed by Nate Martin and his 11.2 points per game. Martin also leads the team in rebounding averaging 9.6 per outing.
CCU games at James Madison and Marshall can be heard on WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM and can be watched live on ESPN+. Links for both along with live stats can be found at www.GoCCUSports.com.
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.
