BELMONT, N.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team dropped a close matchup on the road at Belmont Abbey 83-81 on Tuesday (Nov. 21) evening in non-conference play.
Both teams traded baskets early in the contest, which had 16 lead changes in the first half alone. The Cobras looked to have the momentum with seven minutes to play in the first half after a Donte Samuels basket and foul, which put Coker back in the lead.
Coming out of halftime, the Cobras were able to jump out to a four point lead midway through the second half after a layup by Nathan Lemke and a deep three ball from Marquis Green. Green would hit another shot from downtown to give the Navy and Gold a seven-point lead, their largest of the game. With the game coming down to the wire with 27 seconds remaining, Larry Cooper made a wide-open layup for an 81-80 lead. However, Belmont Abbey went up by two after a three-pointer on the following possession. Khalil Halls tried to get a shot off at the last second, but was just beaten by the buzzer as the Crusaders picked up the 83-81 victory on their home court.
Samuels led the way with game-highs of 19 points and nine rebounds on 7-14 shooting. Green poured in 15 points off the bench, while Jake Barrett and Halls had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Cobras will be back in action of Monday (Nov. 27) when they travel to Emmanuel (Ga.) to take on the Lions at 7 p.m.