How CCU blew out a Pac-12 team to face a top 25 opponent in the Myrtle Beach Invitational
Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis was asked about Keishawn Brewton on Wednesday during a press conference, and Ellis said he wouldn’t be surprised if his junior guard had a breakout performance in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
Brewton wasted little time making his coach a prophet.
The Spartanburg native and transfer this offseason from Chipola Junior College in Florida scored a game-high 22 points and hit six of nine 3-pointers off the bench to give the Chanticleers a 79-57 win over Utah in the first round of the eight-team tournament at the HTC Center.
“I knew that at some point in time this thing was going to happen, and it sure came at a good time,” Ellis said. “. . . I will give Keishawn credit. He has bought in I think to what we’re trying to do. He’s been a guy who has been a prolific scorer wherever he’s been and he’s getting used to our system and he broke out tonight. Hopefully it’ll stay.”
Brewton entered the game averaging 14.8 points per game, including 24 in the season-opening one-point loss to Campbell.
“We all know what Keishawn can do. He’s a 3-point shooter who can also make plays off the bounce and he did that tonight,” CCU sophomore point guard Devante Jones said.
Coastal (3-2) will face Baylor (3-1), which is ranked 24th/23rd respectively in this week’s AP Top 25 and Coaches polls, in the second round at 5 p.m. Friday.
“We just want to keep going from here. This is the beginning for us,” Jones said. “We don’t get many opportunities like this so for us to get this opportunity we just have to take advantage of it, and we’re just getting started. Tonight was a great win, but we can’t relish on this, we have to focus on getting ready for Baylor tomorrow.”
Each first round game was won by a minimum of 14 points, but Coastal was the only underdog and only team from a mid-major conference to win Thursday. Villanova and Mississippi State are meeting in the other semifinal at 2:30 p.m.
Utah (3-1) of the Pac-12, which had received some votes this week in the Coaches Poll, will face Ohio and Middle Tennessee State will face Tulane in Friday’s consolation bracket games.
“I think this is a good opportunity for us, especially us being at home, having our fan base coming out and supporting us,” Jones said. “I think that’s our sixth man, just hearing them get loud and really screaming for us and giving us more energy.”
Coastal took a 19-10 lead midway through the first half with a 10-1 run that included a one-handed put-back dunk off the baseline by sophomore guard Malik LeGania and three-point play off a drive by Jones.
Jones picked up two offensive fouls in the game’s opening 3:30 and went to the bench for the next 4:30, but still finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and four fouls in 21 minutes.
The CCU lead increased to 11 at 23-12 before Utah went on an 11-2 run to pull within two points. The Utes’ run included six points by 7-foot freshman Branden Carlson on a pair of jumpers and a dunk.
Coastal maintained a slim lead for the final 5 minutes of the half, taking a five-point lead on a Garrick Green 3-pointer with a minute left and 36-30 lead on a Brewton 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer off an offensive rebound and loose ball that bounced to him in the left corner.
Brewton remained hot early in the second half, hitting his first three 3-point attempts over a span of 3:30 – extending farther beyond the 3-point arc with each attempt – to help CCU push the lead to 18 points on a Jones 3-pointer with 12 minutes to play.
Sophomore guard Ebrima Dibba had scored six of CCU’s opening eight points in the second half on a layup and pair of jumpers to help the Chants push the lead to 11 points at 47-38 with 16 minutes to play. He finished with 19 points.
A Brewton trey with 6 minutes remaining gave Coastal a 21-point lead and the Chants cruised to victory from there.
Brewton hit 7 of 13 field goals and the Chants shot 45 percent for the game and 46 percent from 3-point range while holding Utah to 33 percent from the floor and 18 percent (5 of 28) on 3-pointers.
Utah entered the game as the third-leading scoring team in the nation at 98.3 points per game, which included a 143-point effort against Mississippi Valley State.
“Our guys put their heart and soul into it energy-wise,” Ellis said. “From a defensive perspective I thought we played excellent in so many ways.”
The Utes feature a pair of 7-foot freshman in Carlson and 7-4 Matt Van Komen – both from Utah high schools. They are two of 10 true freshmen on the roster, which matches the most in the country.
“The only way you get experience is time,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “. . . You can’t speed it up. You’ve got to live it and you go through it and your team hopefully grows if they’re made of the right stuff.
“. . . You’ve got to play hard, smart and together to win most games and we didn’t play hard enough in the first and then we didn’t play smart enough or together in enough in the second half. We got out-scrapped.”
The Chants are now guaranteed to play three opponents from major basketball conferences this week – as their Sun Belt and the Big 12, Big East and SEC are represented in the winner’s bracket – and they’ll face either No. 17/15 Villanova or Mississippi State on Sunday, possibly for the championship.
“We’re not intimidated by it. We relish on these type of opportunities,” Ellis said. “We know everybody was expecting to have those Power Fives in this tournament, but it’s going to be us . . . because the championship bracket is down to four teams and Coastal Carolina is in it.”
Tournament schedule
Thursday
Game 1 - Villanova 98, Middle Tennessee State 69
Game 2 - Mississippi State 80, Tulane 60
Game 3 - Baylor 76, Ohio 53
Game 4 - Coastal Carolina 79, Utah 57
Friday
Game 5 - Middle Tennessee vs. Tulane, 12 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 6 - Villanova vs. Mississippi State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 7 - Baylor vs. Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 8 - Ohio vs. Utah, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday
Game 9 - Game 5 and Game 8 winners, 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 10 - Game 6 and Game 7 losers, 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Game 11, Championship - Game 6 and Game 7 winners, 5 p.m., ESPN
Game 12 - Game 5 and Game 8 losers, 7:30 p.m., ESPNews
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 9:13 PM.
