Cobras Fall to Carson-Newman in Tight SAC Matchup

Cobras Fall to Carson-Newman in Tight SAC Matchup

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team dropped a South Atlantic Conference matchup to the visiting Carson-Newman University Eagles on Saturday (Jan. 14) by a score of 84-78.

A Miguel Priest layup at the 14:18 mark in the first half gave the Cobras a 12-11 advantage. A Carson-Newman 19-7 run over the next five minutes put the Eagles ahead 30-19. Coker closed the deficit to three at the 3:12 mark; however, a 5-0 spurt by Carson-Newman left the visitors ahead by eight with 2:15 left. Coker responded with a 5-0 run of its own, leaving the score 48-45 in favor of Carson-Newman at the half.

The two sides remained close to start the second half, with the Carson-Newman lead growing no higher than six points. A 6-0 run by the Cobras left them ahead 60-59 with 13:03 left in the second half. The Navy and Gold held the one-point lead heading into the under eight-minute media timeout, however, it was Carson-Newman stringing together another run, this time a 7-0 run to take a 77-71 lead with 6:31 left in the second half. Coker closed the deficit to one with 1:55 left, but it was Carson-Newman knocking down its free throws down the stretch to secure the 84-78 road win.

JaQuez Motley led the way with 22 points, 18 of which came from three. Roman Hall finished with 15 points, while Jake Barrett collected 13 points and four steals. Nathan Lemke scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Priest chipped in nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.

The Cobras will be back in action on Wednesday (Jan. 18) to host Lenoir-Rhyne. Opening tip is set for 8 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game – JaQuez Motley