LAURINBURG, N.C. – After a short detour in their previous game, the Coker men’s basketball team got back on the victory train on Wednesday night with a 73-63 win over St. Andrews in Conference Carolinas men’s basketball action. The win improves the Cobras to 9-10 overall and 6-7 in conference play, while St. Andrews drops to 6-13 on the year and 2-10 in the conference.

Coker used a dominating defensive performance in the first half to build a hefty 16 point lead as they entered half time. The Cobras held St. Andrews to just 21 points in the first half, but a 42 point showing in the second half brought the game within reach for the Knights. Luckily for Coker, they were able to hold on and secure the 73-63 victory.

Mason Ambler (Atlanta, Ga.) returned to his normal form, scoring a game high 19 points and cleaning up five rebounds, with Vatrick Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) scoring 16 points of his own and also pulling down five rebounds. Thomas Wright (Sydney, Australia) scored 10 points in the contest, nine of which came from 3-point land.

For the Knights, Zach Garst had a team high 15 points and 11 rebounds for the game’s only double-double, while Marvin Jackson chipped in with 12 points and Aaron Christian and Antonio Moffitt each had nine points.

The Cobra men will take the weekend off before returning to the court on Monday, Feb. 8. They will travel to Mount Olive College for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. St. Andrews next game is on Saturday, Feb. 6, when the Knights take the court against Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C. Tip-off for that game is set for 4:00 p.m.