Waleska, Ga. -- The College of Coastal Georgia men's basketball team (2-1, 0-0) lost their first game of the season Friday night with a 86-77 defeat at Reinhardt University.
Though the Mariners led 37-32 at halftime and maintained an advantage through a good portion of the pairing, the homestanding Eagles made 27 free throws in the contest and converted three 3-point shot attempts over the game's final 5:38 to help claim the non-conference victory.
Coastal Georgia was led by versatile senior
Alex Zambonetti, who scored 19 points on an impressive 8-of-11 shooting. Fellow seniors
Khylan McKennie and
Caiden Punt added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Zambonetti was also the leading rebounder for the Mariners, pacing the team with six boards, including three offensive rebounds.
Kaden McArthur, another senior, had a standout day distributing the basketball with nine assists to pair with nine points. Junior
Thaddeus Burns and sophomore
Nick Patton also contributed nine points.
Overall, the Mariners were the more efficient offensive team from the floor, making 28-of-60 field goal tries compared to Reinhardt's 14-of-64, but Coastal Georgia's 26.9% shooting from three-point distance and 60.9% rate from the free throw line resulted in some missed scoring opportunities. Reinhardt finished the game 52.4% from three and 81.8% from the charity stripe.
The Mariners led for 24:30 of the 40 minutes in the pairing.
Coastal Georgia has a quick turnaround at the Coke Classic, hosted by the Eagles. Coastal Georgia will face Lindsey Wilson College on Saturday, November 7th at 3:00pm.
