Athens, TX- Coastal Bend Men's Basketball took their show on the road to face Trinity Valley on Wednesday night. The Cardinals entered the contest losers of two conference games in a row, including a tough overtime loss to Angelina four days prior. The Cougars looked to start a win streak before the Winter break having beaten a scrappy Navarro team at home.
The Cougars began the game white hot going on an 11-2 run behind a barrage of threes by freshman Peter McKey and Sophomore Malik Nash. The Cards would return fire with a 13-5 run of their own to close the gap to 1, 16-15. The lead would fluctuate for much of the first half but the Cardinals could not wrestle the lead away from the Cougars. Coastal Bend would end the first half with a strong 9-2 run to close the half, up 41-32.
The first 6 minutes of the second half went much like the first, with both teams trading stops and baskets. By the 15 minute media mark the Cardinals had whittled down the lead to 3 points, 48-45 with momentum riding on their side. Out of the media timeout the Cardinals would stop the Cougars on consecutive buckets and take their first lead 48-49. Trinity Valley would stretch their lead all the way to 8 by the 4:30 minute mark, 62-70. Sensing defeat, the Cougars experienced Sophomore Enoch Fatade reignited the bench with a clutch late shot clock three to trim the lead to five, 65-70 at the five minute media mark.
The shot would intensify the Cougar defense as they proceeded to stop the Cardinals six straight trips while responding with baskets of their own. Freshman Jamil Muttilib and Fatade would account for 11 of the final 13 points scored by the Cougars during their 13-2 run. The 75-72 win pushes Coastal Bend to 8-5 on the season and 2-1 in league play. The loss comes as Trinity Valley's 3rd in a row and an 0-3 conference record.
Key players of the game Sophomore Malik Nash scored 16 points while handing out 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Freshman Peter McKey led all scorers with 20 points, including going 5 of 8 from the three point line while dishing out 8 dimes. Freshman Jamil Muttilib contributed 10 clutch points, and Sophomore Enoch Fatade who ignited the turn around chipped in with 13 points. Sophomore Breion Powell found a way to be impactful, grabbing 11 rebounds and Freshman Willie Williams brought in 10 boards of his own.
The Cougars will play this Saturday, December 10th at Home as they head into the Winter break against Paris Junior College (4-7, 1-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 PM in the Cougar Den.
(By Brandon Martinez Men's Basketball Assistant)