HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of the DeLoach Center on Saturday (Dec. 16) at 4 p.m. to take on the visiting Mars Hill University Lions in a South Atlantic Conference matchup. Live stats and video can be found a www.cokercobras.com.
This past Wednesday (Dec. 13), the Cobras knocked off the Tusculum College Pioneers 100-97 in an overtime thriller in conference play. Donte Samuels drained a three-pointer with .04 seconds remaining in overtime for the Coker victory. Four Cobras finished the night in double figures. Samuels led Coker scorers with a season-high 25 points, while Jake Barrett recorded 23, LaDarius Williams tallied 20 off the bench, and Khalil Halls added 16. On the boards, Samuels brought down a team-best nine rebounds and Demarco Jackson followed with eight.
The Navy and Gold head into tomorrow's game with three players averaging double-digit figures in points per game. Samuels leads Coker averaging 15.8 points per game and is nearing 1,000 career points with 963 through 11 games in the 2017-18 season. Additionally, Samuels has spread the ball around, dishing out a team-best 2.4 assists per game. Barrett is Coker's second leading scorer, accumulating 13.6 per game, while Halls is the final Cobra averaging double-digit numbers with 13.0 per game. On the defensive end, Samuels has anchored the Cobras with a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game. Larry Cooper is another Cobra to watch, averaging 7.5 points per game and bringing down 5.1 rebounds per game.
Mars Hill enters tomorrow's contest with a 2-8 record. Charles Moore leads the Lions offensively, averaging 11.3 points per game.
As mentioned, opening tip is set for 4 p.m. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and free to all Coker faculty, staff, and students. In addition, tomorrow's game is free to all Darlington County students and fans that bring two canned food items will receive $1 off admission for participating in the canned food drive.