CCU men’s basketball hits the road looking to stay on a roll

Fresh off his 800th career coaching victory, Cliff Ellis is ready to see what his Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team is made of.

The Chanticleers are rolling on a four-game Sun Belt Conference win streak heading into the thick of the conference schedule, which includes a pair of tough games in the Peach State starting with Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. contest against Georgia State before a 7 p.m. game Monday night at Georgia Southern.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Ellis, referring to two home contests against Texas State and UT Arlington following the two-game road trip in Georgia. “We’re in a good spot, one that many didn’t think we would be. As [I have] said, it’s still early. We have to prove ourselves and I think we have a good group that’s coming together. But these conference games, you really have to fight for.”

That much has been proven being that Coastal Carolina’s four conference victories have come by an average of less 10 points.

“They’re all important,” Chants senior Elijah Wilson said. “You can’t get sloppy and got to be on top of your game at all times because teams can exploit you real quick.”

The Chants – who are in their first season as Sun Belt Conference members since a move from the Big South – started the conference slate with a 90-69 road loss to UT Arlington but have since heated up. CCU took wins over Texas State, Arkansas State, Little Rock and Appalachian State and a big help in the win streak was the addition of Shivaughn Wiggins, who has made a contribution in his three games back from an indefinite suspension from last season.

“Shivaughn helps us out both offensively and defensively. He can score, he can keep the defense honest and he’s a great defender. He’s probably one of the best defenders in the league,” Wilson said of Wiggins. “When you have a player that can help you out on both ends like that, it just helps the team overall. We’re glad to have him back now.”

Wiggins has come off the bench in his three contests, averaging 10.3 points per game while committing just two turnovers. Ellis has seen the turnovers as a whole decrease, and believes his team is still improving on all fronts.

“We’re getting a lot better,” he said. “… This is our first year. Maybe we can surprise some people. Maybe we are surprising some people because they don’t know us just yet but from what I’ve seen it sure is tough. We’ve got 13 more games in this race and you can get on a run or someone can put the smash on you any night.”

The Chants will either continue their run in Georgia or come back to Conway a bit disappointed.

“Go to the state of Georgia now you have to try to steal it. It’s tough. You’ve got to try to protect it at home. It’s a different league,” Ellis said. “Our RPI as a conference is 12th, Big South is 28th. And I’m proud of the Big South, but [the Sun Belt] is rated ahead of Conference USA, ahead of the Colonial [Athletic Association]. You have to bring it every night.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 6:04 PM with the headline "CCU men’s basketball hits the road looking to stay on a roll."