SAN MARCOS, TX – Vince Cole scored 14 points, all in the second half, and rookie Josh Uduje added 12, but Coastal Carolina fell to Texas State 69-64 Saturday night in San Marcos, Texas.
The Chants (12-10/4-6 Sun Belt) fought off a 61-51 deficit with just over four minutes remaining to close the score at 61-59 from two Essam Mostafa free throws but couldn’t get close as the Bobcats scored their final points on two three-pointers and an offensive rebound to keep the Chanticleers just out of reach.
Mostafa finished the game with his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Rudi Williams added 10 points and Ebrima Dibba scored nine and also had six assists. To go along with his point tally, Cole finished a terrific game with five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
Turnovers were a major factor in the game, with the Bobcats scoring 24 points on 16 CCU turnovers. The Chants had 10 interceptions and forced 13 turnovers on which they scored 18 points.
Isiah Small scored a game-high 15 points for the Bobcats, including a game-high three-pointer with 33 seconds left. Shelby Adams had 13 points with Mason Harrell adding 12 and Caleb Asberry scoring 11 as Texas State improved to 15-6 overall and 6-3 in Sun Belt action with the win.
TXST grabbed 33 rebounds to CCU’s 32. A total of 12 of the Bobcats’ rebounds were on the offensive side and led to 11 second-chance points.
Texas State finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field and hit 8 of 21 three-pointers for 38 percent. CCU shot 43.1% from the field and made 6 of 18 three-point attempts for 33.3%. The Chants also hit 14 of 15 free throws for a season-high 93.3 percent from the line.
Both teams shot less than 40% in the first half and turnovers led to several runs as the teams were even down to 29 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Uduje led CCU with eight points and Mostafa had seven points and seven rebounds in the first half. CCU took advantage of eight Bobcat errors to score 14 points on turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Adams had six points to lead the Bobcats with three other players scoring four apiece. Texas State scored 15 points on 12 CCU turnovers in the first half.
The Chants will return home to host four straight conference games starting with a visit from Georgia State on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU Men’s Basketball, follow the chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the Official Home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports .com.
