Greenwood, S.C. – The College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team lost its second game on Friday in the Bearcat Holiday Classic hosted by Lander University, falling 90-57 to Georgia Southwestern.
The loss was the sixth in a row for the Mariners, who returned from an 11-day layoff for Christmas on Thursday with an 86-71 loss to Lander at Horne Arena on the school campus. Coastal Georgia (2-13) will now have another lengthy break as the Mariners don't play again until Jan. 10 when they host Morris College at Howard Coffin Gym.
Georgia Southwestern figured to be a tough matchup for the Mariners coming into the tournament. The Hurricanes (9-2) are currently ranked No. 17 in the country in NCAA Division II. The Americus-based program was also the preseason favorite for the conference championship in a vote by the coaches in the Peach Belt Conference after winning the league's West Division and advancing to the national tournament last season.
The Hurricanes were the fourth team from the PBC the Mariners have faced already this season. Coastal Georgia has also played Armstrong Atlantic, Augusta State and Lander, losing to all three schools. The Mariners are also scheduled to face PBC members Francis Marion and Clayton State before the end of the season.
In Friday's game, Coastal Georgia got a game-high 21 points from Mike Manning, who was 7-for-15 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Reggie Burke finished with 10 points and was the only other Coastal Georgia player to score in doubles. Marcus Morrison led the Mariners with six rebounds despite fouling out with 8:11 left in the game.
The Hurricanes placed four players in double figures with Milos Kleut leading the way with 16 points. Tyler Gunnett followed with 14. Phillip Brown, last year's PBC Player of the Year, and Marlon Rivera added 13 each for Georgia Southwestern.
The Mariners trailed 39-25 after a cold-shooting first half from the field on their part. They made just six field goals and shot 27 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Had it not been for their 11-for-14 performance from the foul line the Mariners would have been in an even deeper hole at intermission.
Coastal Georgia trimmed its deficit to 39-29 early in the second half but the Hurricanes quickly went on a 10-0 surge for a 49-29 advantage and never looked back, building their lead to 33 points with just over a minute remaining.
For the game, the Mariners shot only 34 percent (18-of-53) while the Hurricanes shot 62.5 percent (35-of-56).
Georgia Southwestern dominated on the glass with 39 rebounds to 24 for the Mariners.
