Game Preview:  #2 Limestone vs.  #4 Cobras –Final of Conference Carolinas Basketball Tournament
Game Date: March 5, 2011
Location: Limestone College | Timken Arena |Gaffney, S.C.
Tip-off Scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

BROADCASTS:
Live Webcast: http://saints.nmtvsports.com
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/limestone/mbball/index.htm

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – On Saturday night the Coker men’s basketball team will do something no other men’s basketball team at Coker has ever done before, play for the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship and birth into the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament. The Cobras do not have an easy road to get there as the #2 seed Limestone College stands in their way. The Cobras advanced to the championship game with a thrilling 87-80 win over the #8 seed Belmont Abbey, while Limestone earned their spot with a 81-77 win over the #3 seed Barton.

RECENT GAMES
Belmont Abbey at Coker: 87-80 (W)- Semifinals Conf. Carolinas Tourn.
Pfeiffer at Coker: 89-87 (W)- Quarterfinals Conf. Carolinas Tourn.
Coker at Lees-McRae: 69-56 (W)

Coker College
Home: 8-4, 5-3
Road: 6-6, 5-4
Neutral: 0-3, 0-1
2010-11 vs. Limestone: 1-1

Leaders:
PPG: Tom Wright (14.0)
RPG: Liam Kyle (7.1)
Assists: Delonte Doles (104)
Steals: Tom Wright (35)
FG%: Liam Kyle (54.5)
FT%:  Vatrick Thompson (82.0)

With their 87-80 win over Belmont Abbey, Coker has now won nine of their last 11 games, including six in a row down the stretch. Five Cobras scored in double figures on Thursday night to help lead Coker to victory. Delonte Doles led all Cobra scorers with 22 points and seven assists, while Tom Wright netted 18 points. Liam Kyle had 14 points, four blocks and three steals and Ryan Aijian was a master of the long ball hitting nine of this 13 points from beyond the arc. Vatrick Thompson added 10 points and Joselle Bracy chipped in eight, including going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final minutes of the game.

Saturday’s game will be yet another battle for the Cobras as they split their season series with the Saints, losing at home 62-61 and winning on the road 76-53. In their win earlier this season at Limestone, Doles was the leading scorer with 22 points, while Liam Kyle cleaned up the glass with seven rebounds.

Limestone
Home: 13-2, 7-2
Away: 8-3, 7-2
Neutral: 1-1
2010-11 vs. Coker: 1-1

Leaders:
PPG: Jarrell Douglass (20.3)
RPG: Jarrell Douglass (8.4)
Assists: Stewart Clark (75)
Steals: Stewart Clark (30)
FG%: Danny Friend (59.9)
FT%:  Stewart Clark (78.0)

The Saints enter Saturday’s championship game having knocked off the #7 seed Mount Olive (82-68) and the #3 seed Barton (81-77) to get to this point. Limestone has been very good at home all season having lost just two games, with one of those games coming at the hands of the Cobras (76-53) back on Feb. 7. Led by All-Conference performers Jarrell Douglass (20.3 PPG) and Danny Friend (12.5 PPG) the Saints will be a challenge for the Cobras.

Saturday’s tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Limestone’s Timken Arena in Gaffney, S.C.