Second Half Surge Lifts No. 13 Royals Over Cobras

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Coker College men's basketball team fell 79-68 to the No. 13 nationally-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Royals in a South Atlantic Conference road matchup on Wednesday evening (Feb. 3). 

Neither team could garner the upper hand during the first 11 minutes of action, with the score even at 18-all with 9:12 left in the opening half. However, a brief 7-2 Coker run capped off by a JaQuez Motley three-pointer, put them ahead by five (25-20) with seven minutes left. The Royals would strike back, going on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to take a seven-point lead. The theme of runs would continue, as Coker closed out the half on a 7-3 run to knot things up at 35 after the opening 20 minutes.

The opening 10 minutes of the latter half was a mirror image of the first, with another Motley three-pointer tying things up at 52 with 9:47 left. Once again the Royals flexed their muscles, going on a 11-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 63-54 lead with about five minutes to go. The Navy and Gold knocked on the door down the stretch, closing the deficit to five with under a minute to play, but it was not enough as the Royals earned the eventual 79-68 win.

Aubrey Daniel led the way with 13 points, while Jake Barrett finished with 12 points. Roman Hall chipped in 10 points and Donte Samuels pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.

The Cobras will be back at home on Saturday (Feb. 6) to take on the visiting Anderson University Trojans in a SAC Homecoming matchup. Tip is set for a 4 p.m. start.