Troy rallies late to beat Coastal Carolina 66-65

Feb 16, 2018, 03:41 am

CONWAY, S.C. -- Jordon Varnado hit a jumper and Kevin Barker split a pair of free throws to complete a late Troy rally to slip past Coastal Carolina 66-65 on Thursday night.

The win kept Troy's February record perfect as the Trojans (13-13, 7-6 Sun Belt) have won four straight.

Troy rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to take the lead after Baker drained a 3-pointer to go ahead 60-59 with 5:54 left. Coastal Carolina's Demario Beck responded with a dunk and Jaylen Shaw followed with a layup for a 63-60 advantage.

The Chanticleers led 65-63 following Amidou Bamba's dunk with 1:43 remaining. Varnado responded with a jumper to tie and Baker's free throw proved to be the game winner. Shaw missed a layup in the final seconds that would have won it for Coastal Carolina.

Coastal Carolina (11-16, 5-9) slipped past the Trojans 74-73 in January.

Alex Hicks had 16 points and Baker added 14 with five assists to lead Troy. Javan Johnson added 12 points with eight rebounds.

Shaw had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for Coastal Carolina, which has lost three straight after winning four consecutive games.