Victoria, TX- The Coastal Bend College men's basketball team played at Victoria College on Wednesday, February 16th for a conference matchup. The Cougars are looking to bounce back from a loss at Blinn College last week.
To begin the game, both teams got off to a hot start on offense as the Cougars led 18-14 with six minutes into the game. The Cougars would go on a 11-2 run late in the first half, leading the Pirates 39-32 with 3:48 left until intermission. With back-to-back dunks by Clay Baldwin and Lonzo Rand in the final minutes of the half, the Cougars look to carry this momentum into the second half of play. Coastal Bend leads Victoria College 43-42 at halftime.
Going into the second half, the coaching staff were focused more on defense, by keeping players in front of us and having more help side defense. Throughout most of the second half, both teams were going back and forth. However, the Pirates would find a way to a seven-point lead, after going on a 15-4 run.
The Cougars would find themselves down 69-62 with just over three minutes left on the game clock. CBC would find a way to take the lead with just over a minute left in the game, 72-71. Shortly after, Victoria would hit a pull-up jumper to take back the lead with 19 seconds remaining in regulation. As time was ticking down, Jaylen Williams drove the ball and passed it out to Robert Chapman for a game winning three-pointer. After a hard-fought game, the Coastal Bend Cougars would go on to beat Victoria College 77-75.
CBC's Lonzo Rand led all scorers with 19 points to go with four assists and five rebounds. Guard, Robert Chapman deposited 13 points along with three rebounds and one block, while Faybeyon Shelton finished with 15 points and six boards.
The Cougars improve to 5-10 in conference play, securing their spot in the regional tournament. Up next for Coastal Bend will be at home against Lamar State College where the Cougars look to climb in the regional tournament standings. The game will be on Saturday, February 19th. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.