Montgomery, Ala. – The College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team made history Wednesday afternoon with its 74-69 victory over Bethel in the opening round of the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament.
The win was the first in three tries for the Mariners (11-20) at the conference tournament being held once again at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. The Mariners lost a play-in game in their first-ever SSAC tournament appearance back in 2013 which was the team's first in the league. They also fell the next year to Bethel in the final game for longtime coach Gerald Cox. Coastal Georgia did not qualify for the conference tourney last year.
"It was a good win for all of us," said Coastal Georgia coach Jesse Watkins. "We all worked really hard. I'm just excited for our guys."
With Wednesday's win, the Mariners also reversed their fortunes against the Wildcats (18-12) this season. Bethel, the No. 7 seed for the tournament, had defeated the Mariners in both regular-season matchups between the teams, winning by three points in both contests.
The tournament game was another close one to the end, too, but this time the No. 10-seeded Mariners prevailed.
Bethel led only in the early moments, but after trailing by 39-31 at halftime, the Wildcats stayed within that same eight-point margin until finally catching the Mariners at 69-69 on a made free throw with 1:22 to go.
Following a timeout, Coastal Georgia's Corey Harris made a driving layup in traffic with 54 seconds to play to regain the lead for the Mariners. He also was fouled on the basket, but misfired on the foul shot, leaving the score 71-69.
A blocked shot by Dominic Early on Bethel's ensuing possession fell out of bounds off the Wildcats who were then forced to foul the Mariners. They sent Harris to the line for two shots and he made one of two for a 72-69 lead with 25 seconds left.
Back-to-back turnovers in a matter of seconds by both teams gave Bethel the ball back with a chance to tie, but the Wildcats missed the mark on a deep three-point attempt and then another. Derrick Frye rebounded the second miss for the Mariners and was fouled in the process. The senior went to the line and connected on both of his free throws to seal the win.
For the game, Early led all scorers with 22 points for Coastal Georgia while also pulling down 11 rebounds to record a double-double performance. Frye also notched a double-double in the win as he finished with 16 points and 10 boards. Harris also finished in doubles with 10 points while dishing out six assists.
Darren Davidson led the Wildcats with 17 points before fouling out. Eddie Green followed with 13 points while snaring 15 rebounds for a double-double effort in the loss.
Coastal Georgia battled through foul trouble for much of the second half. Four Mariners finished the game with four fouls but no one fouled out.
"The biggest thing for us was they were averaging about 86 points a game and we held them to 69," Watkins said. "I was real proud of our defense. I thought we were focused and we need to keep that same focus."
The Mariners will now move into the quarterfinals where they will face No. 2-seed Middle Georgia State. The Knights were one of four teams to finish the regular-season tied for second in the league standings with an 11-7 record. Middle Georgia was 14-10 overall.
The Knights defeated Coastal Georgia at home in the regular season by 81-76 in Cochran before the Mariners won in Brunswick by 78-75. The loss to the Mariners was the first of five in a row to end the season for the Knights.
"It feels good to have a chance to play them again," Watkins said. "We split in the regular season, but what counts now is this next one."
Tipoff for Thursday's game is set for 11:45 a.m.
