Conway, S.C. – Jacob Meyer had a game-high 17 points and John Ojiako picked up his 17^th double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough as Arkansas State pulled away in the second half to earn a 71-60 win over Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt Conference basketball game Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
 
Arkansas State led nearly all the way and built a 17-point lead mid-way through the second half, at 62-45, before Coastal played the Red Wolves even the rest of the way. Meyer, the team's leading scorer at 15 points a game, was supported by three others in double figures. Ojiako had 14 points and 15 rebounds, just one shy of his season's best, while Kevin Easley added 14 points and Kylan Blackmon had 11. Coastal is now 8-20 overall and 5-12 in the conference. Braeden MacVicar, a 6'11" freshman contributed 10 rebounds and five points.
 
Arkansas State was paced by sophomore big man Izaiyah Nelson, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Red Wolves are now 16-14 overall and 11-6 in league play, with six wins in a row.
 
"We did a good job of defending the threes, but we didn't defend the inside. We weren't tough enough with the ball and we gave up too many offensive rebounds," said a disappointed Coastal interim head coach Benny Moss.
 
Ojiako, a 6'10" graduate student from Nigeria, had 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also strengthened his position as the conference rebounding leader, averaging 11 rebounds per contest. But he alone was no match for the frontline of Arkansas State, which got 42 points in the paint and 20 points on second chances.
 
Coastal held Arkansas State, the second highest scoring team in the Sun Belt, to 10 points below its average and just 23 percent shooting (7-of-30) from beyond the three-point line. Another positive was that the Chanticleers only turned the ball over one time in the second half and nine times for the game. Coastal also continued to improve its free throw shooting, hitting 9-of-12 charity chances.
 
After the two teams traded baskets to start, Arkansas State muscled its way to an 8-0 run and a 12-6 lead, and the Red Wolves held the advantage the rest of the game. They had a nine-point lead, at 24-15, before Coastal rallied with six consecutive points. Easley had four of those points on his way to 10 points in just 14 minutes of action in the first half.
 
Nelson had 12 points for Arkansas State in the first half, including three dunks and a follow-up for the last points of the half, giving the Red Wolves a 38-31 lead at the break.
 
Coastal will finish the regular season on Senior Night, with a home contest against James Madison at 7:30 pm. (ET) Friday before heading to the Conference Championship at the Pensacola (Fla.) Bay Center, beginning March 5. The Chants will honor seniors Ojiako, Miroslav Stafl, Easley, and Jimmy Nichols before the game.
 
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.