HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker’s desperate comeback attempt came up short in a 69-64 loss to Anderson College Saturday afternoon in men’s basketball action.  CC drops to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference, and the Trojans move to 2-3, 1-0 in the CVAC.

The Cobras started the game well and eventually grabbed a 23-15 lead with six minutes left in the first period.  At that point, the Trojans burly center Randy Javois took over the game and CC went into a long offensive dry spell.  Javois, 6”6’ and 325 pounds, scored eight straight points to tie the contest at 23-23.  Following a pair of free throws by sophomore Abram Ludd, Anderson tied the game and never trailed again.

For a span of 10:19 at the end of the first half and beginning of the second, Coker scored only four points while the Trojans poured in 25.  At the end of the spell the Cobras trailed 40-27 but closed the gap back to nine points with 14:11 to play.  As Coker struggled to put points on the board, Anderson ran relentlessly pounded the ball inside for easy buckets.

The Cobras trailed 60-42 with 4:50 to play but finally found their stroke again.  CC out-scored AC 22-9 the rest of the way, using a full-court press to create some turnovers and also taking advantage of the visitors’ poor foul shooting.  Anderson converted only 5-12 free throws in the final minutes of the game, leaving the door partially open.  Coker continued to chip away at the lead but there just wasn’t enough time to make it all the way back.

The Trojans shot an amazing 64 percent in the game by pounding the ball inside to Javois, Osvaldo Haynes and Odin Palacio.  The trio combined for 37 points on 16-21 shooting and also pulled down 23 rebounds.  AC turned the ball over 27 times, however, and managed only 52 percent shooting from the foul line.

Senior Jay Farrow/Sanford, NC led all scorers with 21 points and had three assists.  Sophomore Vance Caraway/Charlotte, NC had 10 points and senior Jamie Jenkins/Columbia, SC finished with nine.  

Javois led Anderson with 19 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in 22 minutes of play.  Palacio contributed 10 points and eight boards, and Haynes had eight points and six rebounds.  Alfred Boykin finished with nine points and Chris Poore totaled eight points and five rebounds.

Coker only turned the ball over nine times, a season low, but was outmanned on the glass for a   42-20 AC advantage.  The Cobras finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field.

Coker heads to Morris College now on Monday, December 6, for an 8:00 PM tip off.