Chanticleers take down the Camels on the road, 58-57

Buies Creek, NC- The battle of the Chanticleers versus the Camels, a matchup only seen in college basketball. With names as weird and unique as these, it's only fitting that Wednesday Night's game between Coastal Carolina and Campbell was just as special.

The first half was the most interesting half of basketball I have seen in recent memory, featuring everyone's favorite thing: fouls—and plenty of them. There were 22 combined fouls in the first half alone. According to Kenpom, Coastal Carolina was number one in the country in three-point defense entering the game. That defense played a huge part in Campbell's offensive struggles, as the Camels shot 1-12 (8.3%) from deep in the first half.

Photo by James Polo/Campbell Athletics

Coastal's leading scorer RaSheed Jones, who averaged 12.6 points per game entering the game, was held to just 3 points in the first half. The difference maker for which Campbell's bigs had little to no answer was Noah Amenhauser. Campbell's bigs aren't typical, plotting big men that primarily play inside. The rotation of Caleb Zuerliene, Eric Van Der Heijden, and Terren Frank are closer to forwards than they are bigs. They are more athletic and skilled than a typical big, so Amenhauser could use his 7'2", 255-pound frame to easily score in the paint.

Noah Amenhauser #21 | Photo by CCU Photography

In the second half, Terren Frank stepped up and helped erase the deficit largely due to the Camels' abysmal scoring in the first half. He scored 14 points in the second half, including 7-9 from the free-throw line. After being down by as many as 16 points, the Camels stormed back and on their final possession heaved a 60-foot pass to Caleb Zuerliene, who got off a clean look from three that would have won the game. The Chant's strength and identity of playing tough defense and not allowing threes was the eventual difference maker down to the final possession.

Coastal won a tough game and a good bit of credit can be directed towards Head Coach Justin Gray. He and his players could have broken down when the Camels were mounting their comeback in the second half but he trusted his playmakers to get the ball to the Amenhauser to get the victory.

Coastal Carolina's next game is on the road against Winthrop on Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Campbell's next game is also on the road against The Citadel on Thursday, December 12th, 2024 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Follow along on X (@TrevorEverette) for live game updates, and for more of my work on House of College Hoops and House Enterprise, head here.