The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team, behind junior forward Chad Patus's 23 points, defeated the visiting Coker Cobras 89-77 this afternoon at the Wheeler Center. The Abbey improves to 8-4 overall and 5-1 in Conference Carolinas, while the Cobras fall to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in Conference Carolinas.

Belmont Abbey shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field as Patus led all scorers with 23 points on four of five shooting from the field and 15 of 17 free throw attempts. He added eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Richard Barbee added 14 points on six of eight shooting from the floor. Deonte Murphy and Kashif Gumbs both finished with 12 points. Murphy added six assists and two steals, while Andre Fells led all players with three steals.

The contest was highlighted by 79 free throw attempts on 58 fouls, as the Abbey converted 34 of its 44 attempts, while Coker sank 20 of its 29 attempts.