CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) – Sophomore forward Aja Blount came off the bench to hit for a game-high 22 points and lead five players in double figures as Coastal Carolina cruised to an easy 85-44 win over South Carolina State Sunday afternoon at the HTC Center. The win was the sixth in a row for the Chanticleers, who improved their record-setting start to 10-1 while the Bulldogs slipped to 1-12 with its 11th consecutive loss.

Blount also grabbed 11 rebounds, one shy of her career-high, to register her third career double-double, following in the footsteps of senior center Naheria Hamilton who had her 22nd career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Other players in double figures for the Chanticleers were guards Alana Denson with 13, DJ Williams with 12, and Zacharyia Esmon with 10. It was the fourth time this season that Coastal had at least five players hit for 10 or more points.

Coastal took control from the outset and led 19-5 after the first quarter and 48-21 at the half. Blount had a couple of buckets from close range in a 10-0 run for Coastal that gave the Chanticleers a 32-point advantage at 42-10. Blount hit for 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in first half in just 11 minutes of action.

The one-sided contest continued into the second half, where the Chants used a 17-0 run to stretch its lead to 47 points, at 81-34, with five minutes left in the game.

South Carolina State closed the game by scoring 10 of the last 14 points. Senior forward Taylor Brown led the Bulldogs with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Coastal shot 43 percent from the field (33-of-72) and got 50 points in the paint, where SC State had no answer for the Chanticleers muscle and height inside, leading to a 60-29 rebounding advantage. In contrast, the Bulldogs made just 12 field goals on the afternoon and hit only 21 percent of their shots (12-of-58).

It was the last non-conference game for the Chanticleers, who were picked seventh in the 12-team Sun Belt league in the preseason poll. Coastal opens play in the conference Thursday at Troy and then plays at South Alabama on Saturday. Troy was picked to finish second, while South Alabama was picked to finish fourth.

“We have a lot of confidence and we’re excited to start conference play this week,” said the powerful 5’11” Blount. “We’ll find out how good we are this week.”

The Chanticleers will return to the HTC Center next Thursday, Jan. 9, against Texas State. Game time for that game is set for 6 p.m.

Courtesy: Coastal Carolina Athletics