MARS HILL, N.C. – A Jake Barrett made basket as the final buzzer sounded gave the Coker College men's basketball team a 80-78 South Atlantic Conference road win over the Mars Hill University Lions on Saturday evening (Feb. 20). 

The Lions came out of the gates on an 11-3 run in the first three minutes, thanks to back-to-back-to-back made threes. The Cobras closed the gap to at the 8:14 mark, after a Jalal Abdul-Azeez made three tied the game up at 25-25. However, Mars Hill closed out the half outscoring the Cobras 22-16 to take a 47-41 lead into the locker rooms for half.

The two teams traded buckets for much of the first nine minutes in the second half; however, a made jumper at the Abdul-Azeez at the 11:09 began the Navy and Gold's comeback. Over the next five minutes Coker outscored Mars Hill 13-6, with a lay in by Barrett giving Coker the 68-67 lead. Neither team could pull ahead down the stretch, with a pair of made Trey Marshall free throws keeping the Cobras ahead 76-75 with 2:29 left. After two minutes of empty possessions, Donte Samuels knocked down two crucial free throws to put Coker ahead by three, 78-75 with 17 seconds left. Mars Hill responded on the other end with a game-tying three with only eight seconds left on the clock. On the inbounds pass, Barrett took it coast-to-coast, knocking down a contested game-winning shot from the free throw line to give Coker the 80-78 win.

Barrett led the way with 21 points on 9-12 shooting off the bench. He also pulled down five rebounds. Samuels recorded 14 points and five rebounds, while Roman Hall finished with 10 points, nine of which came from downtown. Jalen Watson was a presence on both ends of the floor, scoring seven points, pulling down eight rebounds and notching three steals.

The Cobras will be back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 24) when they take on the Newberry College Wolves in SAC matchup. Tip is set for 8 p.m. at Newberry College.