Score: Keiser 74, Coastal Georgia 73
Records: Keiser (9-11, 5-5 TSC), Coastal Georgia (10-10, 5-5 TSC)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Perkins (G), Radulovic (G), Fisher (G), Orlic (F), Matic (F)
Coastal Georgia Starters: Canada (G), Goins (G), Wade (F), Smallwood (F), Goodman (F)

Keiser Highlights

• Jermar Perkins played the entirety of the contest from the point guard spot and notched a game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 3-of-5 from deep. It was Perkins' fourth game in double-figure scoring in his six games as a Seahawk.
• Andrija Matic had 14 points and snagged nine rebounds while also contributing a block and two steals on the defensive end.
• Marko Radulovic finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Aaron Gedeon came off the bench in the frontcourt to contribute nine points and seven rebounds.

 
Turning Point                                                                                
Keiser led through the entirety of the contest, but the game came down to the wire as Coastal Georgia slowly but surely chipped into a 20 point Keiser lead at halftime. Keiser and especially Perkins' free-throw shooting down the stretch proved to be critical, as the Mariners' frantic comeback hopes were dashed at the final horn.
 
How it Happened

• The game got off to an ideal start for the Seahawks, as suffocating defense saw Keiser establish a 13-0 lead until the Mariners first basket, a three-pointer, came with 13:10 on the clock. Coastal Georgia came up empty on their first eight attempts from the floor.
• The lead swelled up to 25-4 following a 12-1 stretch of play that brought the clock to 9:18, with five of those 12 Keiser points coming from the charity stripe.
• The largest lead of the game was established at 30-6 moments later with 7:13 to play until the intermission, capped off by a Perkins trifecta as the KU defense continued to be stifling.
• Coastal Georgia however drew to within 12 at 32-20 with 4:24 left until the break on the strength of a 14-2 run, as the Mariners full court pressure created some Keiser turnovers and transition baskets.
• The Seahawks had an answer however, and scored 11 of the final 14 first half points to go into the break ahead by 20, 43-23. Keiser scored seven unanswered in the midst of that run, which consisted of a three from Radulovic, a fastbreak layup from Perkins, and a nifty layup from Javen Soto in the paint.
• The early part of the second half saw the Seahawks get into some foul trouble, but nonetheless Keiser still held a 20 point lead at 60-40 with 12:25 to play.
• The Mariners drew to within single digits however for the first time in the second half as spurred on by 13 consecutive points to make it 60-53 Keiser with 7:12 remaining.
• Radulovic halted the run with two free-throws however, and after two free-throws from the Mariners, Soto had an old-fashioned three-point play at the 5:59 mark to push the KU lead to 65-55.
• Soto's basket boosted KU's momentum, but it was stemmed by yet another Mariner run, this one a 12 -3 spurt that brought the visitors all the way to within a single point, 68-67, with just 1:48 left to play.
• On Keiser's ensuing possession, Perkins split a pair from the stripe, and the Seahawks proceeded to benefit from a Mariner turnover with 1:23 remaining. The teams then exchanged turnovers, giving KU possession with 55 seconds left.
• After Perkins missed a contested layup with 34 seconds on the clock, Soto had a key tip out for the offensive rebound, which forced Coastal Georgia to intentionally foul Perkins with 25 seconds left.
• Perkins sunk both to make it 71-67, but the Mariners kept the comeback hopes alive after a called foul on a three-pointer. Vidmantas Kaciuska hit two of three, and it was 71-69 with 18 seconds remaining.
• Perkins was quickly fouled once again and he made two more to make it 73-69 with 15 ticks left, but the Mariners drew a foul on the other end and converted the two attempts to make it a one possession game once again with nine seconds left.
• Ryan Kroll split a pair of fee-throws, and as Coastal Georgia advanced the ball up the court trailing 74-71, Radulovic elected to intentionally foul with four seconds left.
• Once again the Mariners hit both before intentionally fouling, this time bringing Bryce Thurston to the line.
• Thurston missed the first of two, Coastal Georgia called a timeout, and Thurston then missed the second as well. Thurston's miss however delayed the Mariners advance up the court, and the half court heave at the horn flew over the backboard to give the Seahawks the 74-73 victory.

 
Inside the Box Score

• The Seahawks held the edge on the glass, outrebounding Coastal Georgia 38-31. It was the eighth consecutive game in which Keiser has led in the rebounding category.
• Keiser was 6-of-13 from downtown, and defended the line to hold Coastal Georgia to 25 percent from deep on 4-of-16 shooting.
• Both benches had productive nights, with Coastal Georgia getting 30 points from their reserves and Keiser earning 21 points.

Game Notes

• Keiser now leads in the all-time series 3-1 and splits the season series.
• The Seahawks improved to .500 in the Sun Conference at 5-5 and moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the standings alongside Coastal Georgia and Thomas, the Seahawks' next opponent.
• Keiser has now won four of their last five outings in Sun Conference action dating back to a 74-63 win over Florida Memorial on December 8.

 
Coach's Corner
"I think that we let the big lead that we had at the halftime break get to our heads, and we lacked some of the needed focus in the second half as we tried to execute down the stretch. Though we got the win that will have to continue to improve moving forward.


Ties: 0
Lead Changes: 0
Largest Lead: Keiser (24), Coastal Georgia (N/A)
 
Team Leaders
Keiser
Points: Perkins (21)
Rebounds: Matic (9)
Assists: Perkins/Fisher (3)
 
Coastal Georgia
Points: Smallwood (21)
Rebounds: Smallwood (6)
Assists: Canada (4)
 
Up Next
Keiser will remain on their home planks in the Student Life Center for a tip-off with Thomas on Saturday at 4:00.