Coastal Set to Play in First Sun Belt Tournament
NEW ORLEANS (SID) – The Coastal Carolina University men’s basketball team has arrived in New Orleans for their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Chanticleers (15-16. 10-8 Sun Belt) will open the men’s portion of the tournament against South Alabama (14-17, 7-11). It is a match-up of eight vs. nine with the game tipping off at 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. CT) Wednesday, March 8. The tournament will originate from Lakefront Arena on the campus of University of New Orleans.
CCU and USA met in Mobile, Ala., just 12 days ago with the Chanticleers falling behind by as many as 16 points, before coming back to force overtime. In the extra period CCU outscored USA 13-9 to come away with the 81-77 overtime victory.
Jaylen Shaw, who was voted Third Team All-Sun Belt, leads the Chants averaging just over 14 points per game. Elijah Wilson is averaging 13.3 while Colton Ray-St Cyr (9.5) and Demario Beck (9.3) are close to averaging in double digits.
Beck is the team leader in rebounds averaging 8.1 per game and Shaw has a team-high 113 assists and 34 steals. Beck and freshman Amidou Bamba are tied for the lead-high in blocked shots with 24.
The two teams have met three times in competition with CCU holding a 2-1 lead in the series. CCU Head Coach Cliff Ellis knows a lot about South Alabama as he was head coach and athletic director at South Alabama from 1974-1984 leading the Jaguars to two NCAA berths and an NIT appearance.
He won 67 percent of his games at USA and finished his career with a 171-84 record. USA was Ellis’ first NCAA institution where he won more than 170. He has now done that at four different NCCA Division I school, becoming the only coach in NCAA history to achieve that.
The game can be heard live on WSEA Sports Radio, 100.3 “The Team”, or can be watched live on ESPN3.
