Conway, S.C. (Dec. 5) – Senior forward Zac Cuthbertson had team highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Coastal Carolina to a 75-66 win over Hampton Wednesday at the HTC Center, as the Chanticleers improved to 5-4 on the season.
Cuthbertson was supported by junior guard Tyrell Gumbs-Frater, who had 12 points and senior guard Ajay Sanders, who had 11 points. Sophomore guard Trevion Brown added 10 points and 7 assists, and junior forward Amidou Bamba had 9 points and 8 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action before fouling out.
It was the fifth double-double game for Cuthbertson and his third consecutive. He also hit on 8-11 shots, leading the Chanticleers to 50 percent shooting (27-54) on the night. Coastal also held a sizable 46-39 rebounding advantage and showed muscle inside by scoring 40 points in the paint.
“Our defense was in tune with what we wanted to do. We made stops but we gave up too many second chances,” said head coach Cliff Ellis on his 73rd birthday. “I also thought Tre Brown did a very good job of running the team. We beat a good basketball team tonight.”
Hampton, which slipped to 3-6 on the season, was led by junior guard Jermaine Marrow, who scored 24 points. He came into the game as the nation’s sixth leading scorer at over 25 points per game. He scored his points on 24 shots.
Coastal led by 12 points at the half, but increased its margin to 19 (51-32) on a Cuthbertson’s layup. Hampton then went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 51-42 with 11 minutes left before CCU pushed the lead back out to 17 with only a few minutes left.
In the first half Coastal took the lead for good at-7-6 on Gumbs-Frater’s layup and stretched its lead to 42-28 (14 points) just before the half. The Chanticleers led 42-30 at the break with Cuthbertson and Brown each having eight points in the period.