Men's basketball six-game skid comes to end

The Coastal Carolina men's basketball team split the weekend series in Alabama but ended their weekend with a win, ending their six-game losing streak.

On Thursday, Jan. 18, the Chanticleers fell to South Alabama 60-57.

The Chanticleers were down by eight points early, but managed to make a comeback.

Senior forward Demario Beck scored nine of Coastal's first half points while junior Josh Coleman added six points.

The Chanticleers struggled from behind the three-point line. They were just five of 22 from three-point range. Just like past games, they struggled with turnovers and getting to line more. USA was able to get 17 points of Coastal's 16 turnovers while Coastal forced 18 turnovers but only got 11 points off of them.

With just less than 13 minutes left in the game, the Chanticleers had the lead but just couldn't keep which resulted in a loss.

Beck led all Coastal scorers with 11 points and junior Zac Cuthbertson had 10 points.

Things finally turned around for the Chanticleers on Saturday, Jan. 20 as the team ended their six-game losing streak, defeating Troy 74-73. This was also the Chanticleers first win in 2018.

The Chanticleers were down by 14 at the half but they were able to climb back in the game one possession at a time and make it a game in the second half.

Zac Cuthbertson was fired up in the second half. He had 15 second-half points and recorded a game-high of 21 points in the end.

In the second half, the game was simply about runs. The teams traded leads, and was even tied seven times throughout the whole game. When Troy went on a run, Coastal answered back with a run. Their 14-0 run brought them back from a 59-46 deficit.

The final points for Coastal came from Amidou Bamba as he had a tip-in shot to give Coastal their final points of 74 at the 1:53 mark. From then on, it would be a defensive effort by the Chanticleers that helped them win.

Bamba finished the night with six points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes of playing time.

Jaylen Shaw finished with 13 points and was in foul trouble for majority of the game but that didn't stop his hustle. It was his efforts that sealed the game for the Chanticleers. Getting a steal and in the last two seconds of the game and keeping the lead was a tremendous effort shown by Shaw.

The Chanticleers are now 8-13 overall and 2-6 in conference play.

They return home on Thursday, Jan. 25 to take on Arkansas State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.