BRUNSWICK, Ga. - With 3:55 remaining in the game and the Mariners clinging to a five point lead, the College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team rattled off a 10-5 run to close the contest and secure an 82-72 victory inside Coffin Gym over the St Thomas Bobcats on Saturday night. 

The first half was just as competitive as advertised, as neither side was willing to give an inch, but a late half, 9-0, run from the Mariners (6-7, 3-1 SUN) gave them the boost they needed to take their slim lead into the locker room. 

CCGA jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead thanks to a pair of three balls from Salle Wilson and Valdy Zephir, and even extended their lead out to six points on another Wilson layup and a pair of free throws from Kaden McArthur. CCGA controlled the half for the majority of the time, but St Thomas (5-8, 1-3 SUN) refused to go away and cut the lead down to one with a three pointer from Noah Tovar. D'Andre Jefferson answered with a three of his own, but the Bobcats tied the game over the next two possessions at 29-29 with 5:21 to play in the half. After tying the game, the Bobcats mounted a 10-2 run to jump on the Mariners and build their biggest lead of the half at six points. The Bobcats kept the Mariners at bay until their 9-0 run to end the half, which was sparked by seven straight points from McArthur, including a four point play.

McArthur led the Mariners at the break with 15 points, the only Mariner to reach double figures in the half. Zephir finished with six and Preston Crisp added five from the bench. On the other side of the court, Tovar added 13 for the Bobcats off the bench, tying the number for all five starters combined. 

The Mariners clamped down on defense in the second half, holding the Bobcats to just 32 points on 11-32 shooting from the field and allowed just three three pointers in the second half, allowing CCGA to build their lead. 

St Thomas took a one point lead briefly in the second half as a three point play from Dalon Dean put the Bobcats in front 46-45. Once Thaddeus Burns introduced himself to the game with a three ball, the Mariners took the lead once again with 15:48 to play in the game and never looked back. CCGA never again trailed in the contest and built their lead up to 10 points by the 9:06 mark in the half. At one point, the Bobcats mounted a 10-0 run to get back into the contest and cut the Mariners lead down to just five, but CCGA responded with a 10-5 run over the final 3:54 of the game to secure their third conference win of the season and improve to 3-1 overall in conference play. 

McArthur finished with a team leading 21 points on 6-10 shooting and 6-8 shooting from three, while also getting 16 points from Wilson, 11 from Crisp, and 11 from Jeremiah Camara. Camara also finished the game with eight rebounds, two shy of a double-double. Tovar finished with 20 points for the Bobcats while Dean finished with 14. The Mariners shot 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from three in the contest. 

The Mariners will finish their three game home stand with another home Sun Conference matchup as they host the New College of Florida Mighty Banyan. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. from Coffin Gym.