CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) – Sophomore point guard DeVante’ Jones scored a game-high 19 points and dished out 10 assists to lead four players in double figures as Coastal Carolina pulled away in the second half for a decisive 91-71 win over North Carolina Central Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center. The win was the fourth in a row for the Chanticleers, who improved to 7-4. NCCU, which has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years, drops to 3-9 with losses in five of its last six games.
Jones, who registered his third double-double of the season, got scoring help from backcourt mates Keishawn Brewton, who had 18 points, and Tyrell Gumbs-Frater, who had 13 points. Junior forward Garrick Green added 10 points, while senior forward Tommy Burton had eight points to go along with 10 rebounds. It was the fifth time this season that Coastal has exploded for more than 90 points.
Jones, who played all but six minutes of action, also made all eight of his free throws to run his streak of consecutive made free throws to 22 over the last three games.
“Our offense was really good today. We shared the ball and played almost flawlessly on offense,” said Coastal head coach Cliff Ellis. “DJ (Jones) had a great game. He does a lot for us, and he just loves the game. He’s always working to get better.”
NCCU, which touted a stingy defense of allowing just 67 points a game, was led by senior forward Jabri Blount, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Coastal took the lead with a 7-0 run early in the first half and managed to gain a 43-29 advantage at the break. Jones already had 10 of his points in the first half and the Chanticleers were shooting at a torrid 65 percent clip (17-26).
Brewton squashed any thoughts NCCU had of making a comeback when he had seven points in a 9-0 Coastal run in the opening minutes of the second half, making the score 58-32 with 14 minutes remaining. The lead continued to grow until Green made a pair of free throws to give CCU its largest lead of 27 points, at 71-44 with 10 minutes to play.
CCU also got strong support from some up-and-coming players, and the bench came through with 32 points. In particular, Josh Peterson spelled Jones at the point guard slot. Forward Malik LeGania, making his fifth start of the season, hit for nine points, just one from his career high.
“We are playing as well as we can expect to play right now,” continued Ellis, “We’re not as good as we were with Dibba (a sophomore guard lost for the season with a knee injury), but LeGania and Peterson deserve a lot of credit for where we are. This team has bounced back nicely.”
Coastal shot 57 percent from the field (32-56) and made half of its three-point attempts (9-18). The Chants also converted 18-19 free throws.
Coastal returns to action, beginning play in the Sun Belt Conference, with roads games at Troy (Thurs., Dec. 19) and South Alabama (Sat., Dec. 21) next weekend. The Chanticleers will return to the HTC Center on Jan. 2 (Thurs.) for a home contest against Georgia Southern, starting at 7 p.m.
Courtesy: Coastal Carolina Athletics