February 3, 2010

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LAURINBURG, N.C.—St. Andrews Presbyterian College outscored Coker College, 42-38, in the second half but the Knights were unable to bounce back from a woeful first half in which they committed 13 turnovers in a 73-63 Conference Carolinas men’s basketball loss Wednesday night in Harris Court.

Junior Marcus Connor (pictured) -- who ranks 2nd in NCAA Division II in blocks/game heading into the last month of hte season -- tied his season-high mark with six blocks against Coker Wednesday. Connor added eight rebounds.

The Cobras won their fourth game in their last five tries, improving to 9-10 overall and 6-7 in the conference. The Knights maintain 6-13 and 2-10 ledgers after dropping their sixth straight contest.

SAPC junior center Zack Garst (Huntersville, N.C.) – who leads Conference Carolinas in rebounding – posted a game-high 11 rebounds and a team-high 15 points. Garst’s totals were good enough for his 10th double-double of the season. Classmate Marvin Jackson (Gloucester, Va.) was the only other Knight to score in double figures with 12 points.

A trio of Cobras reached the double-figure scoring plateau including a game-high 19 points by senior Mason Ambler (Atlanta, Ga.). The junior duo of Vatrick Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) and Thomas Wright (Sydney, Australia) canned 16 and 10 points, respectively.

St. Andrews had more turnovers (13) than made field goals (9) at halftime as Coker used a dominating defensive performance in the first half to build a hefty 16 point advantage (35-21) at the midway break. The Cobras made all eight of their steals in the first half including three swipes by Thompson. Coker held a 15-0 scoring edge on points off turnovers at halftime.

Ambler scored 12 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes.

St. Andrews protected the ball better in a much more competitive second half by only turning the rock over three times. The Knights kept fighting throughout the final frame but Coker shot 54.5% in the second period to prevent the comeback. A late three-pointer by sophomore Chris Sumski (Charlotte, N.C.) pulled SAPC to within eight, 71-63, but that would be as close as the Knights would get in last stanza.

The sophomore guard tandem of Aaron Christian (New Bedford, Mass.) and Antonio Moffitt (Raleigh, N.C.) each scored nine points for the Royal Blue & White. Junior center Marcus Connor (Charlotte, N.C.) was held scoreless but was a defensive force for the Knights with eight rebounds and a game-high six blocks.

Coker sophomore Delonte Doles (Roswell, Ga.) dished out a game-high seven assists. Ambler – who ranks in the top-10 of the conference in both scoring and rebounding – and Thompson both had five rebounds as Coker held a slight 32-30 rebounding edge.

St. Andrews visits Conference Carolinas rival Lees-McRae College (Banner Elk, N.C.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Knights defeated the Bobcats, 74-67, at home back in December.