HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Donte Samuels surpassed 1,000 career points as the Coker College men's basketball team edged the visiting Newberry College Wolves 89-84 in a back and forth South Atlantic Conference battle Wednesday (Jan. 3) afternoon. The Navy and Gold improved to 7-7 overall and 4-2 in SAC play with the victory.

The Cobras grabbed an early 7-0 lead in the opening minutes of action thanks to a couple of jumpers from Demarco Jackson and a three ball by Khalil Halls. Next, Newberry responded by knotting the game up at 17 with 8:54 remaining in the first half. Both squads exchanged points for the remainder of the half and the Cobras headed into halftime with a slim 33-31 lead.

During the second half, the Navy and Gold gave themselves some breathing room as they used an eight point run at the 16:55 mark to take a 48-36 lead. The run was highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Jackson and Halls. Newberry showed their resiliency once again by battling back into the game and taking an 84-81 lead over Coker with 1:54 remaining in regulation.

With the game on the line, the Cobras dug deep and outscored the Wolves 8-0 to close out the game. Samuels scored six of Coker's final eight points, while Jake Barrett buried the final two free throws of the game to seal the victory.

Halls led the way for the Navy and Gold, pouring in 21 points off 8-15 shooting and a 5-9 mark from three-point range. Samuels chipped in 17 points and added a team-high eight rebounds, while Jackson finished with 15 points and three steals. Nathan Lemke made an impact off the bench, recording 13 points and three rebounds. As mentioned, Samuels surpassed 1,00 career points during the game and now has a total of 1,015 points as a Cobra.

Coker will be back in action when they travel to Lincoln Memorial on Saturday (Jan. 6) to take on the No. 6 Railsplitters in SAC action. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Donte Samuels