Belmont Abbey senior guard Jay Council became the 37th player in school history, and the sixth under head coach Stephen Miss, to reach the 1,000 point career mark as five Crusaders posted double figures in a 91-71 win over the visiting Coker Cobras this evening at the Wheeler Center. The win, the Abbey's fourth in the last five games, moves the record to 14-6 overall and 7-5 in Conference Carolinas, while the Cobras drop to 9-9 overall and 6-6 in league play.

Every Crusader saw action and all but two scored as senior Tyshawn Good, who is tied for the NCAA Division II lead in scoring average, led all players with 20 points. Council added 17, while Darryl Durham added 14. Durham and Chris Davis, who netted ten points, both recorded double doubles as Durham pulled down 11 rebounds and Davis grabbed ten. Terrone Sheffey added ten points and four assists, and Justin Kuhlman contributed nine as the Crusaders made exactly half of their shots (34-68). Belmont Abbey also won the rebounding battle by a 45-35 count.

Belmont Abbey only trailed by as many as four points as the two teams battled neck and neck in the first half, as there were five ties and 12 lead changes. Tied at 39 with 2:02 to play, Sheffey swished a three-pointer with 50 ticks left to put the Crusaders ahead by three, but Coker's Teon Beckett closed the scoring with a jumper at the 26 second mark to close the Abbey's lead to just 42-41 at the half.

The second half was all Crusaders, as the Abbey outscored Coker 49-30 in the stanza. The Abbey's lead rose to as high as six in the early minutes, but a Coker run tied the game for the sixth and final time at the 17:54 mark on an Andrew Morris three-pointer.

Belmont Abbey responded with an 18-4 run over the next six minutes to put the game out of reach, as the advantage grew to 14 at 67-43 on Council's 1,000th career-point, a fast break layup after a steal by Sheffey.

After a Coker timeout, the Cobras moved the deficit down to 11 on another Morris trifecta, but the Abbey responded with a 17-4 run, capped off by a Council three-pointer, the last of his 17 of the night, to extend the lead to 25 at 85-60 with 4:57 to go. The lead never dipped below 18 from there, as the Abbey sealed its second-straight win.

Coker shot 40 percent (24-60) as Errick Bethel led the Cobras with 16 points. Morris added 14 and Julilan Nelson posted 12 and a team-high seven rebounds.