Feb. 6, 2010
CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men’s basketball team (21-4, 11-2 Big South) jumped out to a 29-point first half and nearly broke the 100-point barrier in a 98-62 victory over UNC Asheville (10-14, 7-6 Big South) Feb. 6 in Conway, S.C. Five players scored in double figures for the Chanticleers and three players almost had double-doubles in the win.
UNC Asheville jumped out to a 4-2 lead on scores from Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm, but the Chants would go on an 8-0 that was capped by a dunk from Chad Gray at 16:26. Jason Lane would answer with two free throws, but the Chants answered with a Sam McLaurin free throw and a three from Kierre Greenwood. Joseph Harris would score five points in a row to extend Coastal’s advantage to 19-8 with 11:36 left. That was part of a 22-2 run that was capped by a three from Mario Edwards at 6:53, giving the Chants a 36-10 advantage. Coastal made it 40-14 on a dunk from Chris Evans at 5:17. Coastal had its biggest lead of the half (45-16) at 4:41 on a layup from Danny Nieman at 4:18. Coastal took a 51-25 lead into halftime, the second straight game the Chants scored 50 or more points in the first half.
Greenwood led Coastal with 12 first-half points, while Harris added 10. Greenwood added five rebounds, while Nieman had five first-half assists. Coastal shot a blistering 60 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and were 5-of-8 from three-point range. For UNC Asheville, Dickey had seven first-half points. Asheville shot 26.7 percent from the field and just 1-of-12 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Asheville came out of the lockerroom and would cut the Coastal lead to 57-38 at 16:11 on two Jaron Lane free throws. Chris Stephenson would then hit a three at 13:47 to make it 61-43, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get in the second half. A Harris dunk at 10:18 made it 69-47 and a Mario Edwards three at 8:01 gave the Chants a 78-51 advantage. Coastal took its biggest lead of the game with 46 seconds left on a Tre Lee tip-in and had two possessions to break triple figures, but could not convert the magic 100-point mark.
Harris tied his season high with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. He added nine rebounds and had three steals. Greenwood had 16 points and nine rebounds, seven of them on the defensive end. Nieman had 10 points and nine assists, going 5-of-8 from the floor. Edwards and Evans had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For Asheville, Stephenson had 15 points, while Lane added 14. John Williams had eight rebounds and three steals, while D.J. Cunningham had 10 rebounds for UNCA.
Coastal Carolina ended the game shooting 55.1 percent from the floor and 7-of-15 from three-point range. The Chants also held Asheville to just 28.8 percent shooting from the floor and 3-of-24 from three-point range.
The Chanticleers would outrebound Asheville 51-40 and scored 30 points off of turnovers.
Coastal Carolina head coach Cliff Ellis went barefoot during the game to raise awareness for the charity Samaritan’s Feet, a humanitarian relief organization that puts shoes on kids feet all around the world.
Coastal Carolina will now start a three-game road trip Thursday, Feb. 11 at High Point. Tip off is at 7 p.m., in the Millis Center.
