Cobras Edge Wolves For Season Sweep

NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team edged the Newberry College Wolves 86-80 Wednesday (Feb. 7) evening in South Atlantic Conference play. Coker completed the season sweep of Newberry with the victory, as the Navy and Gold defeated the Wolves at the DeLoach Center 89-84 back on Jan. 3.

Newberry jumped out to an early 11-10 victory in the opening minutes of the first half. Next, the Cobras regained the lead by stringing together a 15-3 run over a four-minute stretch that was dominated by Coker. Marquis Green, Donte Samuels, Khalil Halls, and Dakota Jennings all tallied buckets during the run. The Wolves responded at the end of the half with seven consecutive points to narrow the Cobras lead to 39-35 heading into halftime. 

Five minutes into the second half of play, Newberry grabbed a 52-50 lead for their first and only advantage over the Cobras in the half. Coker quickly captured the lead back with seven consecutive points from a layup by Diez Mungro, jumper from Nathan Lemke, and a layup and made free throw by Halls to take 57-52 lead. 

In the final minutes of regulation, Newberry looked to be gaining momentum for a possible comeback. However, the Cobras continued to answer scores from the Wolves and sealed the game with a layup from Jake Barrett, and made free throws from both Demarco Jackson and Samuels. 

Halls led the Navy and Gold on the offensive end with a season-best 26 points, which included a 9-15 mark from the field and 5-9 mark from three-point range. Samuels followed Halls with 21 points and seven rebounds. Barrett led the Cobras on the boards, collecting a team-high eight rebounds, two steals and one block. 

The Cobras will be back in action on Saturday (Feb. 10) when they host Tusculum on homecoming in the DeLoach Center. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.