BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A late transition layup by Middle Georgia State spoiled the Mariners home opener, as the College of Coastal Georgia Men's Basketball team dropped their third consecutive game by a 67-64 final inside Coffin Gymnasium on Wednesday night. 

All the way until the first media timeout with 14:19 remaining in the first half, the game felt like two heavyweight fighters trading blows, with the Mariners holding a slight 12-11 lead on the scoreboard. 

The Mariners (0-3) made three of their first four shots which included a layup from Jeremiah Camara, a three from Thad Burns, and a jumper from Valdy Zephir to give the Mariners a 7-6 lead. Rashawn Wilson answered immediately for the Knights (3-1) to retake the lead just as quickly as they lost it. Another three from Burns and two free throws from Kaden McArthur stretched the Mariners lead to four, but a three by Andrew Prestwood trimmed the lead quickly to one to send us to the media. 

After the timeout, the scoring went to a screeching hault for both sides. Wilson made a jumper and Jamal Taylor added a layup to push the Knights ahead 15-12, and over a minute ran off the clock before D'ontaye Strawter went 1-2 from the free throw line for the first points for CCGA since the 14:52 mark in the half. The game went another two minutes with no baskets before Raylin Grant made a layup to tie the game at 15 a piece with 9:19 to go in the half. 

Taylor then went on a personal 4-0 run for the Knights to get back their four point lead, followed immediately by an and one from Grant, which he cashed in, to cut that lead right back to one. 

At the 5:35 mark in the first half, both offenses returned to the court and began scoring once again. McArthur extended the lead to three with a layup, but the Knights responded with a 6-0 run courtesy of back-to-back threes from Wilson and Prestwood, taking back the lead. From that point, the Mariners ended the half on a 12-7 run, capped by a Burns three pointer with 42 seconds left in the half to tie the game. The game remained tied until the buzzer, and both teams went into the locker rooms tied 32-32. 

The Knights shot an unprecedented 64 percent from the field in the half, including 4-6 from three point range, but turned the ball over 10 times compared to the Mariners four. CCGA shot 37 percent from the field and 36 percent from three while going 6-8 from the free throw line. CCGA went to the charity stripe eight times in the quarter compared to zero for the Knights

Burns came right out of the locker room with a three pointer to give the Mariners a three point lead, a lead that they held until the 16:46 mark when Nick Cham made a layup to tie the game at 38 a piece. At that point, CCGA went on the largest run of the game up to that point, a 10-1 pace, to take a commanding 48-39 lead, forcing a timeout from the Knights. Salle Wilson contributed seven points to the run while McArthur added a three to propel the Mariners to their largest lead of the game. 

At that point, a switch flipped in the game, and this time it was the Knights turn to stage a massive run to get right back into the ballgame. It was a 12-0 run in favor of MGA, and with 9:27 left to go in the game, the Knights led the Mariners 51-48. From that point, we went back to heavyweight fighters throwing knockout punches to each other until one team quit, and neither gave in.

With 6:25 left in the game, CCGA took a one point lead thank to a Zephir layup, and both teams traded the lead back and forth until the final two minutes of the game. The Knights held the lead 63-62 coming down the stretch, and Prestwood found a lane on a fastbreak after a Zephir missed jumper to put the Knights ahead by three with just 10 seconds remaining. Coming down the floor with a chance to tie the game, McArthur got a shot up before the buzzer but it clanked the front iron and the Knights secured the long rebound and the win by a 67-64 margin on Wednesday night. 

Wilson led the Mariners in scoring with 15 points. While McArthur trailed slightly behind with 13 points. Grant dropped nine off the bench, adding three rebounds and two assists. CCGA shot 40 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three point line, but the knights countered with 57 percent from the field and 58 percent from the three point line. 

The Mariners return to action on Friday, November 8, when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. for an exhibition contest with the Florida Atlantic Owls. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.