Conway, S.C. – Josh Meo scored a career high 20 points for Coastal Carolina, but it wasn't enough as James Madison took the lead in the final minute and walked off with a 74-73 win in a Sun Belt conference game Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center.
James Madison countered Meo's effort with Mark Freeman, a senior guard, who scored 23 points for the Dukes, including seven in the final minute to lift his team to the win. Coastal held a 70-66 lead before Freeman scored the next seven points to give the Dukes a 74-70 lead before RaSheed Jones made a three-pointer for Coastal at the buzzer.
Freeman was one of three players in double figures for the visitors, who are now 17-10 overall and 10-4 in the conference. Coastal held the lead for more than 36 minutes, but surrendered the advantage at the hands of Freeman, who made a three-pointer and five free throws in the last minute.
Meo was one of four players in double figures for Coastal, which fell to 8-19 overall and 1-13 in the league. Jones had 16 points, including 13 in the second half, while
Jordan Battle had 14 points and
Noah Amenhauser added 12.
Coastal's front line went to work early and gave the Chants a lead they would hold throughout the first half. Firstly, it was
Colin Granger, at 6'9", who scored five consecutive points for his team to spot Coastal to a 9-3 lead. Then it was Amenhauser, at 7'2", who had eight points, including a made three-pointer, in the first 20 minutes. At one point, Coastal owned an 11-point lead, at 35-24, before yielding the last six points of the half, leaving Coastal in front 36-33 at the break.
Coastal upped its advantage to 10 points again at 53-43 on an inside bucket by Meo with 12 minutes left, but James Madison pulled even at 60-60 after a 10-0 run and then took control in the final minute, erasing Coastal's four-point edge.
Coastal finished 26-of-53 from the field (49 percent) and 7-of-14 from beyond the arc. The Chants also had a 34-30 rebounding advantage, with Amenhauser leading the way with seven boards.
Coastal will now play two games on the road before returning home to finish the regular season at home with games against Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 and Old Dominion at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28. Those two games will be part of doubleheaders with the Coastal women's basketball team playing the early game on both days.
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.
