Belmont, N.C. – The Coker men’s basketball team fell to the Belmont Abbey Crusaders 72-60 on Monday night in a Conference Carolinas match-up. The loss evens the Cobras conference record at 1-1, while dropping their overall record to 3-2, while Belmont Abbey also moves to 1-1 in the conference and 3-2 overall.

The Crusaders took the lead from the very start and never looked back, taking advantage of 21 points off Coker turnovers and 13 points off the bench to take home the win. The Cobras struggled shooting all night, as they shot just 36.8 percent from the floor.

Chad Patus led all scorers with double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Richard Barbee became the 33rd player in Belmont Abbey history to score 1,000 points, with a 13 point six rebound effort on the night. Patrick Kuhlman added 12 points for the Crusaders.

Coker’s Mason Ambler (Atlanta, Ga.) had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Vatrick Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) led the Cobra scorers with 16 points. Joselle Bracy (Ruby, S.C.) was the third Cobra in double figures, netting 11 points while pulling down four rebounds.

Coker returns to the floor on Wednesday, when they travel to Sumter, S.C. to take on Morris College in a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m., while Belmont Abbey takes on Mount Olive at 7:30 p.m. on January 4.