Conway, S.C. – Noah Amenhauser scored a career high 26 points and RaSheed Jones added 20, including 16 in the second half, as Coastal Carolina pulled away in the final two minutes to earn an 80-74 win over Georgia State in a Sun Belt conference game Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
In a game that included five ties and eight lead changes in the second half, Coastal saved its best for the stretch run. Jones broke a 71-71 tie with a three-pointer at the 2:30 mark and then the Chanticleers closed it out by making 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch. With the win, Coastal improved to 10-20 and 3-14 in league play.
"I challenged this team to close it out tonight," said Coastal head coach
Justin Gray. RaSheed and Noah made some big plays. At the end of the day its about building momentum and doing the things that we believe we can do."
Josh Meo also hit for double figures with 16 points, while
Denzel Hines and
Jordan Battle had seven apiece. Amenhauser also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to earn his third double-double of the season. It was the second time this season that the 7'2" center hit for more than 20 points. It was the fourth time that Jones reached the 20-point mark, but the first time since mid-December.
Jelani Hamilton scored 25 points to lead Georgia State, which slipped to 13-17 overall and 8-9 in the league.
The Panthers had won the first meeting 79-74 in Atlanta.
Coastal grabbed an early 10-2 lead when Mayo hit a three-pointer to cap an 8-0- run, and the Chants never trailed in the first half. They were ahead by nine points on two occasions before Georgia State nibbled away at the margin and brought it back to 36-35 at the break. Meo already had 11 points on the night while Amenhauser had nine points and six rebounds.
Coastal lost the lead for first the first time early in the second half, but regrouped to hold a six-point advantage, 49-43. The Chants would not lead by that much again until the end of the game.
Amenhauser finished 10-of-15 from the field, helping Coastal hit 47 percent of its shots from the field. The Chants also converted 13-of-16 free throws, including the last 11 of the game in the final 7:40.
Coastal will conclude the regular season at home against Old Dominion at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28. The Sun Belt Championship Tournament is set for March 4-10 at the Pensacola (Fla.) Bay Center.
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.
