Hoops teams from near & far set to gather for the 6th Myrtle Beach Invitational
CONWAY, S.C. (November 14, 2024) – College basketball teams from literally across the country will convene for the Myrtle Beach Invitational, to be held Nov. 21-24 at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. From New Jersey (Princeton) to Oregon (Portland) to Florida (South Florida) and several points in between, the eight-team lineup will feature a variety of places and faces throughout the hoops world. TICKETS
The action tips off with two afternoon games on Thursday, Nov. 21, starting with Middle Tennessee (3-0) taking on Ohio (1-2) at noon Eastern Time. The Blue Raiders are off to a red-hot start this season, sweeping through their first three games by an average score of 85-57.
MTSU nearly hit 100 in their 97-51 season-opening victory over Oglethorpe, then followed that by defeating Abilene Christian 79-56 (the Blue Raiders’ largest margin of victory in a road game in nearly eight years) and Evansville 80-63.
“I’ve been really proud of our team,” Middle Tennessee coach Nick McDevitt said. “We’ve handled adversity well, and we’ve handled success well. Our three guards (Jestin Porter, Camryn Weston, and Jlynn Counter) have looked really good playing together, and we’ll need more of that.”
Porter has led the way in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game in the opening trio, followed by Weston with 13 ppg and Counter with 11. All three players are shooting better than 58 percent from the field, though that figure doesn’t match the sizzling 77 percent shooting (20-of-26) put up by forward Essam Mostafa, averaging 15.3 ppg.
Ohio had a pair of 10-point losses to James Madison and Illinois State sandwiched around an 82-76 victory over UNC Asheville. The Bobcats have displayed an amazingly balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging between 13 and 10 points per game.
“I really like the group we have. It’s a great group of high-level players.” Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. “We want to get better every single day, have a growth mindset, and play our best basketball in March.”
The second game of the opening round features two teams from opposite sides of the country, as South Florida (1-2) takes on Portland (1-2).
USF started the season less than two weeks after the sudden passing of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. The Bulls lost their first two games under interim head coach Ben Fletcher – to Florida and College of Charleston – before notching an 85-69 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“His fingerprints are all over this program and will be as long as I’m here,” Fletcher said of Abdur-Rahim to the Tampa Bay Times. “The things he stood for transcended beyond the game of basketball. It’s about molding men. We always felt like if we could mold men and help them be better men, they would be better basketball players.”
Kasen Jennings has paced USF in scoring with an average of 14 ppg, and forward De’Ante Green has hauled in an average of 8.3 rebounds in just 21.3 minutes of playing time per game.
While the trip to Myrtle Beach is relatively short for USF, Portland will travel nearly 3,000 miles after not leaving the state of Oregon for the first three games. The Pilots beat Lewis & Clark 83-70 in their opener, then lost to UC Santa Barbara, followed by a tough 80-70 overtime setback to Oregon. Portland led the Ducks 60-49 with less than 5 minutes left in regulation.
Senior guard Vukasin Masic averages 18 points per game, but no other player is tallying more than 10.7 ppg. Portland coach Shantay Legans indicated he wants a fast-paced, high-scoring team.
“We try to get up on the floor and play fast,” Legans said during a preseason media gathering. “The best players should get the most shots on the team.”
The evening session of the Myrtle Beach Invitational will feature Bradley taking on Texas State, followed by Princeton vs. Wright State. All 12 games in the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN’s family of networks.
