Conway, S.C. – Senior forward Zac Cuthbertson and freshman point guard Devante Jones combined for 41 points, but it wasn’t enough as Georgia Southern pulled away in the second half for a 79-74 win over Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt Conference game Thursday night at the HTC Center.
Cuthbertson had 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Jones added 20 points and 6 rebounds, but Coastal Carolina slipped to 12-13 on the year with its fourth consecutive loss. The Chanticleers are now 6-7 in the conference. Georgia Southern grabbed its third win in a row and is now 17-10, 9-5.
The Eagles took the lead for good with a 7-0 run mid-way through the second half, giving them a 57-50 advantage after a driving layup by senior guard Tookie Brown at the 9:46 mark. From there, Georgia Southern closed out the game with its last 17 points coming from the free throw line. Its largest lead came on a couple of free throws by Brown that put the Eagles up 71-62 with 3:45 remaining.
Cuthbertson scored on a 3-point play to pull the Chanticleers to within 73-67 with 1:33 left, but Georgia Southern kept Coastal from getting any closer.
At one point, the Eagles were 19-20 from the foul line. They finished 25-30 from the foul line and placed five players in double figures, led by Brown, who had 17 points, including 10-13 free throws. Power players Montae Glenn and Simeon Carter added 16 and 13 points respectively and were a combined 14-18 from the field.
“Our defense was not where it was in the first half. They were more physical than we were in the second half,” said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. “That’s two games in a row where we held the lead at halftime and lost it. This is an elite team in the league, and they showed why they are near the top of the league.”
Coastal players Amidou Bamba and Ebrima Dibba added 9 points apiece, and Tyrell Gumbs-Frater hit for 8 points. The Chanticleers struggled against a tight man-to-man defense most of the night, turning the ball over 16 times. They also were off the mark from long range, hitting just 8-25 3-pointers (32%).
Coastal shot 27-62 from the field (44%) and Georgia Southern hit on 25-52 attempts (47%), but it was a hot 13-23 in the second half (56%). The rebounds were about even, with Georgia Southern coming out on top 34-32. The difference was at the free throw line, where the Eagles made 25 free throws compared to 12 for Coastal Carolina. Coastal made 12-14 (86%). Coastal was 8-9 from the free throw line in the second half while Georgia Southern was 20-24.
Coastal Carolina jumped in front early with a 12-2 run to take a 12-4 lead and held the lead the rest of the first half, leading 34-30 at the break. Jones led the way for the Chanticleers with a dozen points (4-5 FGs) while Glenn provided muscle inside and 10 points (5-7 FGs) for Georgia Southern. However, the Eagles missed the mark from long range in the half, hitting on just 1-7 three-pointers.
