Conway, S.C. – Jordan Battle scored a season-high 23 points for Coastal Carolina, but it wasn't enough as the Chanticleers fell to South Alabama 84-59 in a Sun Belt conference game Wednesday night at the HTC Center.
 
Battle, a junior guard from Chesapeake, Va., was one of three Coastal players in double figures. Henry Abraham also had a season high with his 15 points, while RaSheed Jones added 11 to go along with a game-high seven assists. Noah Amenhauser contributed seven points and nine rebounds. The loss put the Chanticleers at 8-16 overall and 1-11 in the conference. Battle also set a Coastal season mark with seven three-pointers.
 
But guard Myles Corey was just as sharp for South Alabama. The graduate student made seven of his eight long-range attempts to lift his team to 16-8 overall and 8-4 in the league.
 
"Their zone bothered us all night. We didn't do a good job of executing tonight," said Coastal head coach Justin Gray. "We didn't have a good showing tonight. And they outcoached us. But Jordan and Henry shot it well. Henry always plays as hard as he can, and he played hard tonight."
 
The two teams combined for 66 three-point attempts, with Coastal taking 38 of those. The Chanticleers made six from beyond the arc in a 12-point run midway through the second half that pulled Coastal to within 71-51, but CCU could get no closer.
 
South Alabama held only a slim 12-11 lead before its suffocating zone defense took effect, holding Coastal without a field goal for the next eight minutes. In that time, the Jaguars put together a 22-1 scoring spree that put the game out of reach. When the dust settled, South Alabama owned a commanding 33-12 lead.
 
The visitors were in front by 43-20 at halftime. In the first 20 minutes, the Jaguars were 8-of-15 (53 percent) from behind the three-point line and held a 20-10 rebounding advantage.
 
South Alabama finished 15-of-28 from long range (54 percent), while Coastal was a respectable 15-of-38 (40 percent). Overall, South Alabama shot 56 percent from the field, while Coastal was a bit lower, at 40 percent.
 
Coastal will now travel to play at Bowling Green on Saturday as part of the Sun Belt-Mid American Challenge series before returning home for two home game next week. The Chanticleers will host Appalachian State at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 and then entertain James Madison at 2 p.m. Feb. 15.
 
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.