HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker earned its first win of the season 78-71 over visiting Morris College Monday night in men’s collegiate basketball.  CC improves to 1-2 on the year while the Hornets fall to 1-5 overall. 

The Cobras struck early with a three-point attack by junior Jason Fulwood/Cumming, GA to grab a 14 point advantage.  In a 2:17 span Fulwood hit a trio of three-balls to help stretch Coker’s lead from 6-2 to 17-3.  CC maintained their double-digit lead over the remainder of the half for a 35-23 lead at the break and allowed the Hornets to cut the margin to eight only once during that span.

The second period had more of an up-and-down pace which resulted in 15 turnovers for both teams.  Coker’s lead hovered around 10 points for the first half of the second period but Morris rode a hot-streak by Joseph Hayward to make it a ball game again.  Hayward scored seven in just over two and a half minutes and some reckless play by the Cobras cut the lead to 56-49 with seven minutes on the clock.

A dunk by Hayward brought the Hornets to within nine again with 5:23 to play but the sophomore was adjudged to have held onto the rim too long and given a technical foul.  Senior Ryan Queen/Philadelphia, PA knocked down both free throws and the Cobras quelled the rally.

Coker pushed the lead back to 18 points, its largest of the game, with 1:29 to play but MC shaved it back down to seven with six seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Antron Franklin.

Johnny Jackson/Hartsville, SC led the way with 12 points in 14 minutes and Fulwood tallied 11 points for the Cobras.  Senior Jay Farrow/Sanford, NC collected nine points and five boards and classmate Michael Pierce/Whiteville, NC stuffed the box score with eight points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Franklin led the Hornets with 18 points and four assists and Hayward scored all 14 of his points in the second period.  Jason Jones added nine points and Raymond Parks scored eight.

The matchup featured 28 turnovers by Coker and 26 by Morris.  CC held a slight 34-32 advantage on the boards and connected on 78 percent from the foul line while the Hornets hit only 58 percent of their attempts.

Coker will next host CVAC rival Anderson College this Saturday, December 4, at 4:00 PM.