Brunswick , Ga. – Many basketball teams would have given up any thoughts of winning if they were in the same high-top shoes that the Coastal Georgia men were in Thursday night in their game against Southern Wesleyan at Howard Coffin Gym, especially a team with only four wins after its first 19 games of the season.

But apparently, the Mariners aren't like most teams.

Down by 21 points to the Warriors as the game reached the final 10 minutes, the Mariners appeared headed toward another loss in a season filled with them. Or so most everyone thought as many of the home fans began filing out of the stands as early as halftime as Coastal Georgia trailed 41-31 at the break.

But all those fans who stuck it out, including the prep kids who were invited to the game on High School Night with the Mariners, were treated to an improbable and thrilling come-from-behind win by the home team which roared back for a 104-98 double-overtime victory in the Southern States Athletic Conference contest.

"One thing about our kids is they don't give up," said veteran Coastal Georgia coach Gerald Cox. "Most teams having a season like ours would be moping around at practice. But these kids come to practice and work hard and they're still energetic. They still believe they can get better. We just kept playing and believed we could come back."

It took "teamwork" as sophomore guard Reggie Burke said after the game, but it also took some more heroics by Burke, who hit a pair of game-tying three-pointers including one at the end of regulation and another in the first overtime to keep the Mariners (5-15 overall, 3-7 league) alive in the game.

"It was more motivation than anything," said Burke, who finished with a career-high 33 points for the Mariners. "It was our first game back in second semester. We had a packed house and I didn't want to lose."

Near the end of regulation, Burke hit the first of his two big treys from the right wing to tie the score at 76-76 with 31.5 seconds left which turned out to be the final points in regulation.

In the opening overtime, Burke pulled up his dribble from just right of the top of the key and unleashed a high-arching long-range bomb that found nothing but net after the smooth-shooting left-hander let it go over the head and stretched out arms of a Southern Wesleyan player who was in perfect defensive position as he guarded the Mariner point guard.

"He's been Mr. Clutch a couple to three times already this year," Cox said of Burke, who has hit game-winning shots for the Mariners twice this season. "He's a very good player and he's really tough under pressure. He believes he can do it, and the kids believe he can do it. And, I believe he can do it. I want the ball in his hands, too."

Burke, whose career-best had been 29 earlier this season before this game, actually finished with a double-double for the Mariners as he also pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds. Burke never left the floor, playing all 50 minutes of game action.

Four other Mariners finished in double figures in the win including P.J. Reason (18), Kentorey Johnson (17) and Keron Billinger (17) who got his points coming off the bench.

For the Warriors (7-9, 3-6), Kenny Holmes had the hot hand as he led the team with 30 points. Nikola Lambic, who came in averaging just over 17 points a game and almost 10 rebounds, finished with 22 points and 10 boards for the Warriors.

Southern Wesleyan led 41-31 after a first half in which they shot 56 percent (18-of-32) from the field while the Mariners shot just 39 percent (13-of-33).

But the second half and the overtimes were a different story. Coastal Georgia shot 49 percent over the remainder of the game while the Warriors shot just 38 percent.

The Mariners quickly cut their deficit to 41-36 after intermission, but the Warriors then started pulling away going up by as much as 21 twice in the second half including 72-51 with 10:28 to play.

But amazingly, the Mariners would outscore the Warriors 25-4 over the remainder of regulation, taking advantage of a rash of turnovers and missed shots by Southern Wesleyan as the Mariners applied defensive pressure.

The Mariners still trailed 76-66 following a Burke free throw with 1:33 to go. But just eight days removed from an overtime win at conference rival Brewton-Parker when they scored the final eight points in regulation, the Mariners scored the last 10 against the Warriors.

Billinger scored the first two on a bucket, and then after a Warriors' turnover, Burke cut the lead to 76-71 on a three that followed an offensive rebound by Reason.

Then after a miss and a defensive foul by the Warriors, Billinger trimmed the lead to 76-73 with two free throws with 39 seconds left.

With the Warriors then trying to inbound the ball, Johnson knocked down the pass as he guarded on the throw-in and quickly tossed the ball toward the right corner to Burke who squared up and knocked down his wide-open three to tie the game and send the remaining Coastal Georgia faithful into a frenzy.

The Warriors still had plenty of time to break the collective heart of the Mariners with a late bucket, but Southern Wesleyan missed three straight shots from point-blank range in the closing seconds as players from both teams fought frantically for the ball each time as it came off the rim.

The Mariners rebounded the third attempt and called timeout with two seconds left. But on the inbound play, all they got was a full-court desperation heave by Johnson that clanked off the backboard on the other end.

That last defensive stand was probably as much luck as anything, but Burke said it was definitely defense that brought the Mariners back.

"The first half, our shots weren't falling and theirs were and we also got beat on the boards," he said. "What really kept us in the game was our defensive intensity, and it gave us the energy we needed on the offensive end, too. We just kept playing hard."

In the first overtime, the Mariners trailed by four with just over a minute left, but they caught the Warriors on Burke's clutch three with 6.7 to go.

Again, the Warriors missed a shot and a putback on their offensive end before the buzzer sounded that would have won the game. They actually took a third shot that fell in, but they clearly didn't get it off in time to beat the horn.

In the second OT, the Mariners took charge over the Warriors who appeared out of gas as Coastal Georgia took as much as a seven-point lead in the first three minutes.

"We just had more energy than them," Burke said. "We were at home and had more energy left than they did."