BRUNSWICK, Ga. - It was a successful first day at the Coach Cox Memorial Tournament for the College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team as they defeated the Brewton-Parker Barons by a final of 64-54 inside Coffin Gym Friday night.

Thaddeus Burns put the Mariners (5-5, 2-1 SUN) on the board first with a three which was immediately answered with a 7-1 run from the Barons (3-8, 1-2 SSAC) Salle Wilson tied the game with a three and Kaden McArthur later gave the Mariners the lead with 14:48 to play in the first half. Both teams traded baskets for the next four minutes of game play until Tommy Tisdale III gave Brewton-Parker a three point lead with 9:36 left in the first half. Jeremiah Camara and Wilson combined for the next six Mariner points to push them back out front, but a 1-2 trip from the free throw line from BPC tied the game right back up at 25-25. From that point on, CCGA ended the half on a 19-11 run which included an 8-2 run in the middle, as CCGA pushed out their lead and took a 44-36 lead into the locker room. 

McArthur played all 20 minutes of the first half and led the Mariners with 10 points , followed closely by Wilson with nine. Three other Mariners finished with six in the half, including Camara off the bench. CCGA shot an even 50 percent from the floor and 46 percent from three in the half. 

McArthur started the second half with a layup to put the Mariners up double figures as they started the final frame on a 9-0 run to extend their lead all the way out to 15 points eight minutes into the second half. A layup from Tisdale ended the Mariners run as CCGA went scoreless for the next six minutes of game time to allow BPC back in the game as they cut the lead down to 10. McArthur and Valdy Zephir kept the Barons at bay as neither side could score with any efficiency in the second half. Over the final three minutes, CCGA's lead never dropped below 10 as David Felix put the game away at the free throw line to secure the Mariners 10 point victory on day one of the Coach Cox Memorial Tournament. 

McArthur and Wilson combined for 29 points and combined to shoot 11-27 from the field in the winning effort. Burns finished with nine points while Strawter scored eight points and grabbed a team leading six rebounds. 

The Mariners will conclude the tournament on Saturday when they host ABAC. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m. from Howard Coffin Gym.