Conway, S.C. – Rasheed Jones scored 19 points and three Coastal Carolina players scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Chants fell to Louisiana, 71-68, in a Sun Belt conference game Thursday night at the HTC Center.
 
Coastal led by as many as 13 points with 12 minutes to go before Louisiana outscored Coastal 14-3 over the final 5:30 of the contest to earn the win. The Ragin' Cajuns hadn't led since the score was 15-13 midway through the first half. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil hit a foul line jumper in the final minute to give Louisiana the lead to stay at 69-67. Moutaouakkil led the visitors with 21 points as Louisiana improved to 4-11 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt.
 
Jones, a 6'6" sophomore guard and Coastal's leading scorer on the season, was helped by big man Noah Amenhauser, who had 13 points, and Jordan Battle, who had 10, all in the second half.  Andre Mulibea added nine points coming off the bench, all on three-pointers in the first half. The Chants' loss leaves them at 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the league.
 
"We didn't execute very well at the end. We turned it over and their pressure bothered us," commented Coastal head coach Justin Gray after the game. "Turnovers hurt us. It seemed like every bounce went their way at the end, but that's on us. It's a little frustrating."
 
After trading baskets in the early going, Coastal put together an 19-5 run to take a 28-19 lead, with Jones scoring six points in the run. It was a lead that Coastal would hold until the final minute of the game. Mulibea capped the run with his third three-pointer. They held a 34-27 advantage at the break. Jones led the way with 11 first-half points, while Mulibea had nine.
 
Amenhauser, who had only two points in the first half, scored nine consecutive points for Coastal to begin the second half. And after Jones collected a couple baskets, Battle scored 10 consecutive points for his team to give the Chants their largest lead, at 57-44, with 11:30 remaining. But nothing came easy for the Chants the rest of the way.
 
They were still in front 65-57 with six minutes remaining, but Coastal managed just three points the rest of the way, all on free throws. Naz Brown made a pair of foul shots, and Jones made a free throw in the final seconds before intentionally missing the second attempt to try to for an offensive rebound and a chance at a three-point attempt.
 
Coastal shot a respectable 47 percent from the field (22-of-47) and made 18-of-21 free throws (86 percent), but late turnovers were the difference against Louisiana's pressing full-court defense. Coastal also had a rebounding edge at 31-27.
 
Coastal will be back at the HTC Center for a 2 p.m. game against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday (Jan. 4). Following that, the Chants will play two away conference games next week before coming back for home games against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 (Thursday), and Marshall at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 18 (Saturday).
 
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