ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA – The University of South Carolina Beaufort snapped its losing streak with an 83-80 road victory over Flagler College on Wednesday night. The Sand Sharks used a final defensive stop and a balanced scoring effort that featured 11 different players reaching the scoring column in the win.
USCB improves to 18-8 overall and 12-6 in the Peach Belt Conference. Flagler drops to 15-10 on the season with a 9-8 conference record.
Nolan Paladugu led the team with 15 points, one of three double-figure scorers. Kevaughn Price added 12 points, and Evan Kilminster finished with 11. The Sand Sharks had 11 different players score in the contest. Dylan Lewis filled the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Flagler opened the scoring with a basket on its first possession to take an early 2-0 lead. Just over a minute into the game, Price drilled a three-pointer off an assist from Paladugu to give USCB a 3-2 advantage. Price scored the first five points for the Sand Sharks before Kilminster tied the game at 7-7 four minutes in.
Qurahn Anderson kept the game tight early, tying the score for the fourth time in the opening five minutes. In a high-scoring first half, Flagler built a seven-point lead at 24-17 with 11:58 remaining before Paladugu stopped the run with a three-pointer. The Saints later pushed their lead to eight at 33-25.
The deficit remained eight until Lewis sparked a run with back-to-back three-pointers, bringing USCB within two. The run stretched to 9-0 as Hudson Norton knocked down his first three-pointer of the night to give the Sand Sharks a 40-39 lead.
After a Flagler miss, Kilminster connected on a three-pointer off a Lewis assist to cap a 12-0 run and give USCB a 43-39 advantage. The Sand Sharks hit four three-pointers during the stretch. The teams traded baskets late in the half, and Anderson's layup in the closing seconds sent USCB into the break with a 45-42 lead.
A balanced scoring attack in the first half featured eight different Sand Sharks finding the basket, led by Lewis with eight points. USCB shot 53.3 percent from the field in the half.
Kilminster opened the second-half scoring with a jumper nearly two minutes in to extend the lead to 47-42. After Flagler trimmed the deficit to one at 49-48, Caden Douglass scored his first points of the game to keep USCB in front by three. Flagler tied the game at 53-53 with 13:25 remaining before Dominic Eason put the Sand Sharks back ahead off Lewis' fifth assist, making it 55-53.
Flagler tied the game again at 61-61 and briefly reclaimed the lead at 62-61, its first since the opening half. Eason responded with his sixth point of the half, and Paladugu followed with a three-pointer to regain the lead. A second straight three from Paladugu, followed by Lewis' steal that led to an Eason dunk, pushed USCB ahead 71-65.
The Sand Sharks built the lead to as many as eight before Flagler cut it to 73-70 with five minutes to play. With the lead at three, Price converted a three-point play off an offensive rebound and putback to extend the advantage to six.
Flagler scored the next four points to trim the margin to one possession, but Eason answered to make it 81-78. USCB sealed the victory at the foul line and secured a final defensive stop to clinch the 83-80 win.
The Sand Sharks return home Saturday evening to face Clayton State University at 7:30 p.m. in their final home game of the season, which will serve as Senior Day.
