McKenzie, Tenn. – The College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team absorbed a tough 99-96 loss Monday at Bethel in Southern States Athletic Conference action.
Coastal Georgia (6-14 overall, 2-6 SSAC) led by as much as nine points inside the final 10 minutes only to see Bethel battle back and pull out the win.
It was the second three-point win by the Wildcats over the Mariners this season. The Wildcats (13-6, 5-3) clipped the Mariners 87-84 on the opening weekend of conference play back in late November in Brunswick.
Monday's game was one of several played in the SSAC on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Coastal Georgia was looking to sweep its road trip to Tennessee after winning at Martin Methodist 61-60 on Saturday in overtime.
It was looking good for the Mariners as they led 80-71 with just over eight minutes to go, but Bethel wouldn't go away. The home squad chipped away at its deficit until tying the Marines at 93-all with just under two minutes to play.
The Wildcats would go in front for the first time since late in the opening half on a made foul shot and then a second-chance shot by Cole Nelson after getting the rebound following a missed free throw which put the home team in front 96-93 with 37 seconds left.
The Mariners forged another tie on their next possession when Jamaal Rhodes hit a trey for a 96-96 deadlock with 20 seconds left.
Coming out of a timeout to set up a play, Bethel got the ball into the paint, but threw a kick-out pass to Andrew Rogan who drilled an open three from the left wing that proved to be the game-winner.
The Mariners had time to possibly tie the game again, getting the ball back with 11 seconds left. But after several timeouts, a three-pointer from the left wing by Rhodes was off the mark, allowing Bethel to eke out its fourth straight win.
Coastal Georgia finished the first half on a 6-0 run for a 50-48 lead and opened the second stanza with another 6-0 spurt. The Mariners led after halftime until Taylor Clay tied the game at 93-all with 1:54 left.
For the game, five Mariners finished in double digits as the team shot 47.8 percent (32-67) from the floor while connecting on 11 three-point tries. Rhodes led the Mariners with 19 points, Dominic Early scored 17, Joshua Thompson followed with 14, Hunter DeRuiter added 12 and Milton Geddes finished with 10.
Thompson led the Mariners with nine rebounds. Geddes finished with seven boards and three blocks. Malik Channer scored eight points and recorded six assists before fouling out late.
Bethel had six players score in twin figures as the Wildcats shot 60.3 percent (35-58) for the afternoon while sinking 10 three-point shots. Rogan led the home squad and all scorers with 20 points.
The Mariners will be back at home later this week for two league games at Howard Coffin Gym. They will host Faulkner Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game and will take on Auburn-Montgomery at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Both games follow earlier women's games between the schools.
