Feb. 15, 2010
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DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - North Carolina Central University fell into a 17-0 hole and could not dig itself out, as Big South power Coastal Carolina University earned its 23rd victory of the season with a 68-57 win on Monday night in front of 2,421 fans inside McDougald-McLendon Gym, the largest home crowd of the season for NCCU.
NCCU (7-21) missed its first 10 field goal attempts and committed four turnovers in the opening eight minutes of the contest, allowing Coastal Carolina (23-5) to enjoy a 17-point cushion. The host Eagles finally lit the scoreboard when freshman point guard P.J. Taylor found freshman forward Dami Sapara for a layup at the 11:37 mark.
The Chanticleers pushed the advantage to 20 points on two occasions, last on a Joseph Harris jumper at 7:29 to make the score 24-4.
From that point, the Eagles closed out the half on a 16-7 run, including seven points by junior guard Vincent Davis, to trim the gap to 31-20 at intermission.
NCCU sophomore forward Nick Chasten opened the second-half scoring by knocking down a three-pointer to pull the Eagles to within eight points, 31-23 at 19:09.
NCCU narrowed the deficit to eight points four other times, including 44-36 on a jumper by Davis at 13:12, but the Eagles could not get any closer.
Coastal Carolina increased the margin to as much as 17 points on a pair of free throws by Logan Johnson to make the score 63-46 at 4:14.
NCCU made one last run to cut the lead to single digits (66-57) on a jumper by junior guard C.J. Wilkerson with 52 seconds left, but it was not enough.
Coastal Carolina was led by senior guard Mario Edwards with a game-high 18 points, while Harris added 16 points and seven rebounds.
NCCU was sparked by Chasten, who scored 15 of his team-best 17 points in the second half, while also grabbing a team-high six boards. Wilkerson contributed 16 points for the Eagles, while Davis came off the bench for 11 points.
The Chanticleers dominated the glass, out-rebounding NCCU 41-26, including a 22-9 rebounding edge in the first 20 minutes.
After trailing 17-0, the Eagles out-scored Coastal Carolina 57-51 during the final 32 minutes, playing the Chanticleers even in the second stanza, 37-37.
NCCU returns to the hardwood in 10 days for its final game of the season at Longwood on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The Eagles defeated Longwood 81-78 on Saturday (Feb. 13).
