SALISBURY, N.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team dropped a South Atlantic Conference road matchup to Catawba College on Wednesday night (Jan. 25) by a score of 87-79

It was all Catawba in the opening five minutes, opening up a 14-6 lead with 14:54 left in the first half. However, a 8-2 response by Coker over the next 90 seconds trimmed Catawba's lead to just 16-14. Another run by the Indians put them ahead 29-16 with 9:52 left in the first. The two sides headed to the locker rooms at half with Catawba holding a 52-32 advantage.

The Cobras picked up their play in the second half, outscoring Catawba 32-17 in the opening 14 minutes of the second half and trailing by only five (69-64). However, it was another run by Catawba, this time a 10-2 scoring outburst to take a 79-66 lead with three minutes left. Made free throws down the stretch would clinch the 87-79 win for the Indians.

Five players finished in double figures for the Cobras, lead by the 13 points and eight rebounds of Nathan Lemke. Jalal Abdul-Azeez chipped in 11 points, while the trio of JaQuez Motley Jake Barrett and Miguel Priest all finished with 10 points. Barrett and Priest pulled down nine and six rebounds each. Roman Hall also notched nine points off the bench.

The Cobras will be back in action on Saturday (Jan. 28) when they host Brevard in SAC matchup.