CONWAY, SC – The Coastal Carolina University men’s basketball program will open the 2023-24 season on Monday, Nov. 6, as the Chanticleers host Piedmont (Ga.) at HTC Center at 7 pm ET. This game will be the first of 19 home games that Chants will host this season.
CCU will play its first nine games at home, and that includes three games at the Myrtle Beach Invitational and will play 11 of its first 12 games at the HTC Center.
The Chanticleers are coming off an 11-20 season and a 5-13 conference record.
Piedmont is coming off a season that saw it finish 13-14 overall and 5-7 in the Collegiate Conference of the South (NCAA III).
A coaching legend
Senior Coach Cliff Ellis begins his 17th season at the helm of the Chanticleers and enters this season as the 906th hitting coach. He is the only coach to win at least 170 games in four different NCAA DI programs. He is one of two coaches (Dana Altman, Oregon) to be named conference coach of the year at four different schools.
His 828 NCAA DI wins are 10th all-time and the three wins would move him to ninth. That number also makes him the active leader in NCAA DI wins per season. Among all DI coaches, active and inactive, he is 14th in career wins.
ABOUT ORGANIZATIONS
Ellis will have five returning starters on the roster led by freshman Conway Jimmy Nichols. The starting point guard Henry Abraham and returns as it does Kyle Blackmon, Marcus Saundersagain Joey Kahn.
There are nine new players wearing a Chanticleer uniform for the first time when the Lions come to town. Referrals include Jon Sanders, Ginika “John” Ojiako, Miroslav Stafl, Kevin Easleyagain Ian Granja. CCU also has three true freshmen making their CCU debuts, incl Braeden MacVicar, Jacob Meyeragain Trevor Barrett. Jaland Whitehead he will be looking to make his first appearance after redshirting last season.
ABOUT PIEDMONT
The Lions have 19 players on their roster and 10 of these are returnees. Among those returning are the top three goal scorers from last season.
Ryan Jolly averaged a team-best 14.6 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field, 38 percent from the three-point line and 81 percent from the free throw line. He led the team with 125 assists and 51 steals.
Noah Reardon was the second leading scorer on the team last year with 10.3 points per game and Dean Devin was the third leading scorer, averaging 9.7 points per game, which increased to 10.6 per game in the conference.
Piedmont had a lot of bad luck last season with eight losses by three or fewer, and six of those by three points or fewer.
CCU and Piedmont can be heard on WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM and can be watched live on ESPN+. Links to both and live stats can be found at www.GoCCUSports.com.
