BRUNSWICK, Ga. - For the first time in 2024-25, the College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Cochran, Ga. to take on the Middle Georgia State Knights in their season opener. 

Coming off a 2023-24 season which saw the Mariners finish 11-14 and 3-11 in conference play, CCGA is looking to right the ship and build momentum into a more positive 2024-25 season. 

Salle Wilson and Kaden McArthur return to lead the team for another year as the duo had solid seasons a season ago for the Mariners. Wilson, now a senior, ranked second on the team in scoring a season ago with 14.1 per game while McArthur was not far behind averaging 11.8 points of his own. Both shot the ball very efficiently from the field with McArthur shooting an even 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three as a freshman. 

The Mariners will be without leading scorer Nick Jiles who averaged 18.3 points per contest and ranks 10th all time in school history with 814 career points in just two seasons at CCGA. Layton Veon will also be a massive hole to fill as the 6-8 wing could put the ball on the floor or shoot the three as he averaged 13.6 points per game and started all 25 games a season ago, the only Mariner to do so.

The Knights of Middle Georgia State will look different as well for the upcoming 2024-25 season, as their four leading scorers have moved on since the end of 2023- 24, most notably being Brice Martin who led MGSU in scoring at 17.7 points per game a season ago. The Knights will also be without Pierles Brown, who averaged 14.5 PPG and Adarius Oliver who scored 10.2 PPG. Andrew Prestwood will be the leading returner, number wise, as the now senior from Milledgeville will look to lead the Knights into the SSAC Conference Tournament. The Knights averaged 75.0 PPG as a team while shooting 43 percent from the field and just shy of 30 percent from the three point line. Picked to finish ninth in the Southern States Athletic Conference this season, MGSU finished with an 8-19 record and a 7-13 conference record last season. The Mariners and Knights played twice a season ago, with CCGA grabbing the victory in both contests. 

Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. from Morris Gymnasium in Cochran.