Joshua Beadle made a decisive 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in the third overtime to give Coastal Carolina a 94-91 victory over UMass at the HTC Center on Saturday. The game, part of the SBC–MAC Challenge, marked Coastal Carolina’s first triple-overtime win since 1977.
Beadle scored 23 points for the Chanticleers, while Rasheed Jones led with 26 points and AJ Dancler added 24. “That’s one of the crazier endings to a game that I’ve seen, trying to put players in situations to make plays on both sides,” said Chanticleers head coach Justin Gray. “I’m so blessed to be the head coach at Coastal and be part of what we’re building along with everybody in our program.
“You want to take a deep breath, but you want to stay present in these moments because these guys work extremely hard for them. Today is one of those games where they’ve created a memory that will last a lifetime.”
Coastal Carolina trailed by eleven points at halftime but improved their shooting significantly in the second half, making eight out of twelve three-point attempts. They overcame a nine-point deficit late in regulation through an 11-2 run capped by Jones’ fast-break three-pointer.
Dancler gave Coastal Carolina a brief lead with under two minutes left, but UMass forced overtime when K’Jei Parker hit a tying three-pointer with thirteen seconds remaining. In the first overtime, Dancler tied the score again at the buzzer with a contested shot from beyond the arc.
The teams continued exchanging baskets through two more overtimes. Beadle’s three-pointer put Coastal ahead late in double overtime before Marcus Banks tied it again for UMass as time expired. In the third extra period, Jones and Dancler hit key threes for Coastal before UMass tied it once more on Banks’ shot.
Beadle then secured the win with his final basket after reading his defender’s position: “[The defender] was kind of back playing on his heels, anticipating a drive,” Beadle said. “I knew if I hit him with a move, he wouldn’t be able to get a good closeout, and I took advantage of it.”
After shooting just under 26 percent in the first half, Coastal Carolina improved to nearly 51 percent from the field for the remainder of play. Reggie Hill recorded his first double-double this season with eleven points and thirteen rebounds as Coastal finished sixteen-for-thirty-four from long range and limited turnovers during fifty-five minutes on court.
UMass was led by Parker’s thirty-one points off the bench; Banks contributed twenty-one points and Leonardo Bettiol added seventeen. Daniel Hankins-Sanford collected twenty rebounds for UMass.
Coastal Carolina returns to Sun Belt Conference play Thursday against Louisiana in Lafayette.
