BRUNSWICK, Ga. (December 8, 2018) – The Webber International University men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 84-79 win over the College of Coastal Georgia to earn its first victory in The Sun Conference.

Webber led by as much as 11 in the first half, led 42-36 at halftime, and led by 10 at 48-38 two minutes into the second half before a 13-5 Coastal Georgia run made it a two-point game at 53-51 with 14:27 left.

After eight ties and eight lead changes the rest of the way, Webber finally took back control over the final two-plus minutes of action, starting with two free throws by Tommie Luke to give Webber a one-point lead at 77-76 with 2:12 remaining.

The two teams then traded 1-for-2 trips to the free throw line until Luke connected on two free throws with 27 seconds to go, making it a three-point Warrior advantage at 80-77.

The Mariners then missed on a tying attempt from three with 10 seconds left, but got fouled on a three with 5.7 seconds left as Jaylen Smallwood missed his first attempt before converting the next two to draw Coastal Georgia back to within one at 80-79.

From there, Luke salted it away from the line with four more free throws as he finished with each of Webber's last nine points and 16 of its final 18 points of the game.

Luke finished with 28 points in all, 25 of which came in the second half, doing his damage on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and an 11-of-14 mark from the free throw line. He also added three rebounds and three assists.

Three other Warriors reached double-digits in scoring as Simon Fransis had 16 on 50 percent shooting from the field and three 3-pointers, Austin Evans had 10 points, and Garrett Woodmansee also had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and two 3-pointers. Malik Morrow also added nine points on three 3-pointers.

In all, Webber shot 42.9 percent from three (9-21) compared to only 17.2 percent (529) for Coastal Georgia.

Webber improved to 5-7 overall on the season and 1-4 in The Sun Conference. Coastal Georgia, which is currently receiving votes in the NAIA Division-II National Coaches' Poll, fell to 8-6 and 4-2.

"I am very proud of the guys' efforts tonight on the road," commented Head Coach Allen Corbin. "I think we are finally starting to buy in and learn what it takes to win. We executed tonight what we have been practicing. My staff has been tremendous with giving suggesting and holding guys accountable. They deserve a ton of credit along with the players."

Next up, Webber plays at Southeastern Baptist College for the second time this season at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, in Laurel, Mississippi. The Warriors defeated the Chargers by 10, 86-76, in the first meeting between the two squads back on November 3.