Keishawn Brewton led four double-figure scorers with 22 points, and Coastal Carolina cruised to a 79-57 win over Utah in the first round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational in Conway, S.C.
Brewton made a 3-pointer on a buzzer-beater before halftime, providing the host Chanticleers with a pivotal momentum swing.
Coastal Carolina (3-2) went on a 14-3 run early in the first half to build an 11-point lead it never relinquished.
Utah (3-1) cut the deficit to one, led by Timmy Allen's inside play. He was the lone Utes player in double figures with 15 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Brewton's bucket pushing the lead to six before intermission carried over into the second half, though. The Utes never got closer, while Coastal Carolina used runs of 8-0 and 7-0 in the first 10 minutes of the second half to build a 19-point lead.
Ebrima Dibba, DeVante Jones and Garrick Green joined Brewton in double figures with 19, 16 and 12 points, respectively. The Chanticleers used 15 Utah turnovers to get into transition, resulting in 17 fast-break points. Utah scored just three in transition.
Along with an effective fast-break offense, Brewton ignited a hot 3-point shooting night for Coastal Carolina. His 6-of-9 shooting from outside led the Chanticleers on a night in which they connected on 11 of 24, 45.8 percent, from behind the arc.
Utah, conversely, went ice cold from deep at 5 of 28 for 17.9 percent. The Utes shot just below 40 percent in their first three games and averaged almost 10 made 3-pointers in the wins.
Utah teased a run midway through the second half, but failed to capitalize on a nearly three-minute scoreless spell for Coastal Carolina. Two Jones baskets, Brewton's sixth 3-pointer and two Dibba free throws pushed the lead to a game-high 23 points immediately following the drought.
--Field Level Media
Utah | Coastal Carolina | |
Timmy Allen 15 | Scoring | Keishawn Brewton 22 |
Branden Carlson 3 | Assists | Ebrima Dibba 4 |
Timmy Allen 9 | Rebounds | Isaac Hippolyte 8 |
Riley Battin 6 | Free Throws Made | Ebrima Dibba 4 |
Timmy Allen 1 | Steals | Ebrima Dibba 2 |
Branden Carlson 1 | Blocks | Garrick Green 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 57 | 33.3 | 5-28 | 14-25 | 9 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
Coastal Carolina | 79 | 45.3 | 11-24 | 10-16 | 12 | 35 | 6 | 7 | 11 |