Coastal Carolina falls at Troy in regular-season finale

TROY, Ala. – Senior guard Antonio Daye scored a game and career-high 28 points as Coastal Carolina fell to Troy, 95-74, in the Sun Belt Conference regular-season finale Friday night at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala.

Daye was aggressive on the offensive end of the court in both halves, scoring 15 of his points in the opening 20 minutes and adding 13 points in the second half. He finished 11-of-15 from the field and hit three of his five three-point attempts. He was also a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line. It was his third 20-point game in CCU’s last four outings.

Daye had scoring help from Jimmy Nichols, who finished with 15 points, and Jomaru Brown who came off the bench to score 12 points.

Troy (19-12, 11-7 Sun Belt) led for over 39 minutes of the game and had six players finish with double-digit points. Christyon Eugene led the Trojans’ charge with 19 points. Nelson Phillips added 16, while Zay Williams scored 13.

Aamer Muhammad and Jackson Fields came off the bench to score 10 points each.

This was a game of made three-point field goals and turnovers, and the Chants were behind in both columns. Troy finished the game with 17 made three-point field goals in 42 attempts (40.5 percent), while the Chants only connected on five of their 24 attempts (20.8 percent).

Troy also took advantage of 18 Chanticleer turnovers, which the Trojans turned into 31 points.

CCU (11-19, 5-13 Sun Belt) won the battle of the boards at 34-32, with Daye grabbing a game-high nine and Nichols finishing with six.

The Chants were solid in the paint as they have been all season, scoring 40 points around the basket as compared to 24 for Troy. The Chants added 24 fastbreak points and 21 points off their bench.

For the second consecutive game, CCU was perfect at the free throw line, connecting on all 17 attempts. In fact, the Chants did not miss a free throw on their current road trip, hitting all 14 attempts in their game at Georgia Southern on Wednesday night.

Next up for the Chants will be the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, as CCU will face Arkansas State Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. ET at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.