Cobras Slip Past Morris

HARTSVILLE, SC – The Cobra men outlasted Morris College Thursday night in its 2003 home opener.  The Cobras were inspired by the capacity crowd and played well enough to defeat the Hornets 75-68 in men’s collegiate basketball.  The win improves Coker’s record to 1-1 on the young season.

The Hornets jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and it appeared as if the Cobras were off to a sluggish start.  Coker, however, was able to find their offensive rhythm and trimmed the Hornet lead to one, (15-14) at the 11:23 mark of the first half.

The Cobras took the lead for good on its next offensive possession as sophomore Quentin Demeritte found classmate Jason Fulwood open behind the arc who in turn knocked down his second three pointer of the half to put Coker ahead, 17-15.   

The Cobras took advantage of shoddy ball handling by Morris, capitalizing on 14 points off turnovers.  Coker improved immensely in the turnover department from its previous contest against Francis Marion, committing only 10 to Morris’ 14.  This enabled the Cobras more scoring opportunities which proved pivotal in crunch time as the Hornets closed the Cobra lead to one, (59-58) with 4:10 remaining in the contest. 

Coker resisted the sudden surge by the Hornets by capitalizing on clutch free throw opportunities down the stretch as well as not hurting themselves with costly turnovers.  Overall, CC shot 49 percent from the field while the Hornets shot 42 percent.  Coker was out-rebounded by Morris 39-31 in the game but made up for it by shooting a robust 47 percent from behind the three point line.    

Junior Jamie Jenkins paced the Cobras with 20 points and four rebounds, while shooting a near perfect 8/10 from the field.  Classmate Jay Farrow was equally as impressive, collecting 13 points and three rebounds. Freshmen Deon Briscoe had another impressive showing for the Cobras with seven points and four rebounds, and senior Andre Blackwell helped out underneath with a team high six rebounds.

Demeritte chipped in 11 points, three assists, and two rebounds while committing only one turnover at the point guard position.  Freshmen Vance Caraway contributed eight points and two assists off the bench for the Cobras in his college debut.  Darren Greene had a team high 15 points for the Hornets while Etson Engley added a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Coker next takes the court in a rematch at Morris College on Monday, November 24^th.  The tip off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.