LAURINBURG, N.C.—No. 10 seed Coker College shot 55% in the second half to upset No. 7 seed St. Andrews Presbyterian College, 66-59, in the first round of the 2007 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Monday evening in Harris Court.

The Cobras (8-20 Overall) snapped a four-game skid heading into the tourney and will visit No. 2 seed Mount Olive College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the CVAC quarterfinals. The Knights, after being held to 27% shooting in the second half, end their season at 11-17.

Coker built an early 12-point lead, 19-7, in the first eight minutes of the contest. However, SAPC rallied back and tied everything at 23-23, with a 16-4 run over the next eight minutes. A senior Abram Ludd (Sumter, S.C.) layup in the final 90 seconds gave the visitors a slim 27-25 advantage at halftime.

The Knights committed 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes that led to 14 Coker points but St. Andrews stayed within striking distance behind 47% shooting compared to the Cobras 37%.

SAPC was held to just eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as Coker built a 15-point lead (48-33) midway through the period. St. Andrews kept fighting but hot shooting helped Coker maintain a substantial advantage, 60-46, with 3:07 to go. The Knights finally were able to put together a 7-0 run to pull within seven, 60-53, with 1:42 left but time was against the home team. St. Andrews was forced to foul and the Cobras converted on six shots from the free throw line to hang onto the seven-point victory.

Sophomore Lukas Varga (Pawleys Island, S.C.) led the Cobras with 13 points and four assists while senior Jason Fulwood (Cumming, Ga.) bucketed 11. Sophomore Blake Terrell (Marieta, Ga.) and freshman Michael Gore (Landis, N.C.) followed with nine and eight points, respectively.

Senior Richard Stone (Williamsburg, Va.) ended his career at St. Andrews with a game-high 18 points. Junior Taiwon Grooms (Landover, Md.) just missed a double-double with 17 points and a game-high nine boards. Junior Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore Keith Josey (Suffolk, Va.) each added eight points. Sophomore Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) dished out a game-high five assists to go along with three steals.

Coker will take on No. 2 seed Mount Olive on Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the CVAC Tournament.