MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Coastal Georgia saw a nine-point first-half advantage evaporate as St. Thomas rallied in the second half to hand the Mariners an 87-76 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the Fernandez Family Center.

The Mariners (6-9, 1-3) came out firing in the opening half, shooting an impressive 56.3 percent from the field and connecting on 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Derrick "Mannie" Harris was nearly perfect in the first 20 minutes, going 5-for-5 from the field and knocking down a three-pointer to lead all scorers with 12 points. Kycean Pruett added seven first-half points, while Braden Wood chipped in eight points including a pair of three-pointers as Coastal Georgia built a 45-39 halftime lead.

The Mariners extended their advantage to nine points at 35-26 with 5:32 remaining in the first half following Wood's second three-pointer of the game. Strong contributions from Jeremiah Camara and Thaddeus Burns helped maintain the lead, with Coastal Georgia converting all five of their free throw attempts in the opening period.

The momentum shifted dramatically after intermission as St. Thomas tightened its defense and dominated at the free-throw line. The Bobcats attacked the rim relentlessly in the second half, attempting 27 free throws and converting 20 of them. Coastal Georgia's shooting cooled considerably, as the Mariners managed just 37.5 percent from the field and a dismal 9.1 percent from three-point range after halftime, connecting on only 1-of-11 attempts from distance.

St. Thomas seized its first lead of the game at 53-51 with 15:33 remaining when Colin Nutter hit a three-pointer to cap a 12-6 run. The game remained tight through the midpoint of the second half, with seven lead changes and seven ties, but the Bobcats began to pull away down the stretch. Kaleb Myers and Adrian Cruz combined for 25 second-half points to lead the St. Thomas comeback, with Myers finishing with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

Camara provided a spark off the bench in the second half, scoring eight of his 12 points after intermission and attacking the basket aggressively. Khylan McKennie added six second-half points, finishing with 10 on the game, while Aamir Mack contributed eight points off the bench. Harris, who was perfect in the first half, managed just two second-half points and finished with 14 to lead the Mariners.

Coastal Georgia was outscored 48-31 in the second half and struggled to match St. Thomas' physicality in the paint, where the Bobcats held a 48-42 advantage. The Mariners also gave up 26 second-chance points while generating just 11 of their own. Despite shooting 46.9 percent for the game and converting 78.6 percent from the free-throw line, Coastal Georgia couldn't overcome the second-half drought from three-point range.

The Mariners will look to regroup and find more consistency on both ends of the floor as they continue conference play. The loss drops Coastal Georgia to 1-3 in conference action.