GREENVILLE, TENN. – The Coker College men's basketball team earned a 90-85 road overtime victory over the Tusculum College Pioneers on Saturday (Feb. 13) in South Atlantic Conference action. 

The Cobras jumped out on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes to open the matchup. After the Pioneers closed the deficit to one, Coker went on another run, opening up a 25-15 lead with 7:25 left. Tusculum closed the half on a 14-5 run to only find themselves down by one at the half, 30-29.

The Navy and Gold extended the lead to five after a Jalal Abdul-Azeez made three, however, a 9-0 run by Tusculum gave them their first lead of the evening. The Pioneers continued their efficient play on the offensive end, pulling out in front by eight (56-48) with 9:22 left in the matchup. The Cobras continued to chip away at the lead, trimming it to one on multiple occasions, however, Coker found themselves down six with four minutes left. Back-to-back threes made by Trey Marshall and Aubrey Daniel cut the deficit to two with just three minutes left. After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, a Jalen Watson dunk tied things up at 69-all with just 1:02 left. Tusculum surged ahead by two after a pair of made free throws with 39 seconds left. On the other end, Donte Samuels knocked down a game-tying jump shot with 30 seconds left to eventually send the game to overtime.

Both teams came out of the gates on fire in the overtime period, scoring a combined 13 points in the first 1:16. After a made free throw and a made layup, Tusculum held the one-point 82-81 advantage with 1:22 left. Abdul-Azeez went on a 5-0 of his own over the next 40 seconds to put Coker ahead 86-82 with 43 seconds left on the clock. Four made free throws by Samuels down the stretch iced the game and secured the 90-85 overtime win for the Navy and Gold.

Samuels led all scorers with 23 points and six rebounds. Aubrey Daniel recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Abdul-Azeez finished with 13 points, including a perfect 3-3 from downtown. Trey Marshall chipped in 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Watson registered seven points and eight rebounds.

The Cobras will be back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 17) to take on the visiting Wingate University Bulldogs in SAC action. Tip is set for 8 p.m.