CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will open action at the 2024 Hercules Tire Sun Belt Men's Basketball Championship when they face ULM to open the men's tournament on Tuesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. ET, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.
LAST TIME OUT
The Chants fell to James Madison 86-76 in the regular season finale
. John Ojiako led four Chants in double-digit scoring with 19 points
. Jacob Meyer followed with 16, while
Jon Sanders came off the bench to score 13 and
Miroslav Stafl, making his first start, finished with a career-high 11 points.
CCU shot 52.9 percent (27-51) from the field and 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the three-point line and hit 16 of its 19 free throws for 84.2 percent.
THE SERIES
vs. ULM
These programs have met 11 times on the hardcourt with the Chanticleers holding a 7-4 lead in the series, but the Warhawks have won the last two games including a 79-75 win over CCU back on Feb. 7 in Monroe.
The series started back in 1992 with a Chants 77-68 win in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Hawaii Pre-Holiday Tournament. The two teams did not play again for 22 years when in 2014 CCU won a 61-48 defensive battle at the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantic Mainland Bracket in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The rest of the games have come since CCU joined the Sun Belt Conference for the 2016-17 season. CCU has won only once in Monroe with ULM defeating CCU 83-70 last season on its home court.
ULM and CCU have met once in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and 80-50 win for ULM in New Orleans, La., in 2019.
ABOUT THE CHANTS
CCU completed the regular season with an 8-21 overall record and was 5-13 in Sun Belt Conference action.
Meyer finished the season as the Chants' leading scorer averaging 14.9 points per game, which is seventh in the conference. His 44.3 percent field goal percentage is sixth in the conference.
Ojiako had an outstanding season for CCU. He completed the regular season leading the conference in rebounding at 10.8 per game. He also led the SBC in double-doubles (17), total rebounds (312), field goal percentage (63.7), and defensive rebounds (7.28). He was tied for first in total number of 10+ rebound games (20). He is second in offensive rebounds (3.48), 10th in blocked shots, and 17th in scoring (12.83).
Nationally, Ojiako finished eighth in both rebounds and rebounds per game. He is ninth in double-doubles, and 10th in field goal percentage, 16th in defensive rebounds per game and 25th in offensive rebounds.
Along with Meyer and Ojiako,
Kylan Blackmon started all 29 games while averaging 11.6 points per game. He had a team-best 56 three-point field goals and another team-best with 37 steals.
ABOUT LOUISIANA MONROE
The Warhawks are 11-14 overall and finished 6-12 in Sun Belt Conference action. ULM was picked to finish 14th in the coaches' preseason poll and completed regular-season action 12th in the conference.
ULM is averaging 69.9 points per game with Nik Metskhvarishvili averaging 12.2 points per game. He led ULM to the earlier win over CCU with 28 points. He also is the team's top rebounder averaging 5.9 per game.
Tyreke Locure is averaging 11.2 points per game and leads the team in three-point field goals (47), made free throws (75), assists (85), and steals (55).
The CCU game at ULM 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.
