HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team fell on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27) 78-71 to the visiting Carson-Newman University Eagles in its regular-season finale.

It was an all-senior starting five for the Cobras that scored the first 24 points, giving them a 24-19 lead midway through the first half. In that span, Coker shot 6-7 from behind the arc, including three straight threes from Deion Craig in a two-minute span. The Cobras held on to a lead until the first half buzzer sounded a late Carson-Newman basket tied the game up at 40-all.

The Eagles came out on fire in the second half, outscoring the Cobras 13-5 in the opening three minutes. However, a made free throw by Donte Samuels capped off an 11-0 run, putting Coker ahead 56-53. The Cobras continued to knock down shots from behind the arc, sporting a 66-61 lead at the under-eight media timeout. The Eagles would catch fire again, closing out the game on a 17-5 run to take the 78-71 road win.

Samuels led the way for Cobras with 17 points off the bench. He also pulled down four rebounds and swiped three steals. Jake Barrett finished with 12 points off the bench, while the duo of Craig and Aubrey Daniel finished with nine points each.

The loss concludes the Coker men's basketball 2015-16 season.

McDonald's Player of the Game – 2016 senior class