Jonesboro, Ark. – Arkansas State defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 63-61 as Jireh Washington’s shot fell through as the final horn sounded in Jonesboro, Ark. on Saturday evening. The loss dropped the Chants record to 15-3 on the year and 5-2 in the Sun Belt while A-State improved to 8-11 overall and 5-3 in conference action.
Senior center Naheria Hamilton lead the offensive attack for CCU with her 23rd career double-double. Hamilton recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds while classmate Caitlin Roche and reserve sophomore forward Aja Blount added 11 and 12 points, respectively.
The Red Wolves had two players score in double digits, as Washington went 7-of-16 from the floor to record 20 points and Mya Love chipped in with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 2-of-2 from three-point land.
Coastal opened the first quarter cold, shooting just 5-of-20 from the field and 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Hamilton scored four points to lead CCU in the opening quarter as the Chanticleers ended the first quarter with an 11-9 advantage.
The cold start continued in the second quarter as the Chants went 0-of-7 from deep and 7-of 19 from the floor. Hamilton went 3-of-3 to record six points in the second quarter and totaled 10 points in the first half.
A-State wrestled control of the contest with a 7-2 run to close out the first half for a 27-25 halftime lead. Love led the Red Wolves attack, including three points in the middle of the run that closed out the half.
Arkansas State opened the third quarter on fire and used a 10-3 run to increase its lead to 37-28 with 6:34 remaining in the quarter, forcing CCU to take a quick timeout.
Coastal found its shooting stroke in the fourth quarter going 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from deep. Junior guard Zacharyia Esmon and Roche combined to 3-of-6 from three-point land to pull the Chants even with A-State twice in the final minutes. CCU outscored the host Red Wolves 26-20 in the final quarter to give themselves an outside chance.
After Arkansas State took a four-point lead at 61-57 with 1:14 to go in the game, back-to-back layups by Blount tied the game up at 61-61 with 21 seconds to play.
As time ticked down, the Red Wolves’ Washington missed a layup in the paint in the closing seconds only to get the offensive rebound and put back basket as time expired to give the home team the two-point last second win.
Coastal Carolina returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 30, and Saturday, Feb. 1, as they will host Georgia Southern and Georgia State at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. Tip-off for the first contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
Courtesy – Coastal Carolina Athletics
