BRUNSWICK, Ga. - For head coach Scott Sanderson and the Faulkner basketball team, what a difference a half makes. Behind at the half and having turned the ball over 13 times, Sanderson challenged his cold-shooting Eagles to reverse the first-half trend. His team's response left him smiling.

Faulkner shot 60 percent in the second half, committed only five turnovers, and turned in crucial play after crucial play on the way to an 83-70 victory Coastal Georgia here Thursday night before a boisterous crowd at The Coffin. The Eagles' third straight Southern States Athletic Conference win improves their league record to 4-5, putting the 0-4 start to the conference schedule even farther away in the rearview mirror.

"We played really poorly in the first half in almost every possible way, and Coastal Georgia is talented enough to make us pay for it," Sanderson said. "We challenged them at the half, and I'm really proud of how things went in the second half in a hostile road environment. Everything we did wrong in the first half we did well in the second, and when the game was on the line late we kept our composure and did what we needed to do get a big victory."

Faulkner trailed for most of the first half, going the final seven-plus minutes without a field goal. A three-point halftime deficit grew to six in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 9-2 run culminated by Lucas Luttrell's 3-pointer at the 16:49 mark put Faulkner on top 41-40. They never trailed again, despite many anxious moments. Each time his team was threatened, Sanderson's Eagles made a play. It didn't go unnoticed. And it wasn't always the normal cast that provided the heroics, although Di'mar Hill and Nick Drake did most of the heavy lifting. Hill finished with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Drake added 17 points.

Logan Jozwiak, who entered the game averaging six points a game, added 13 - 10 of which came in the decisive final 20 minutes. Reserves Marquis Grays and Matt Pond also made crucial shots that quieted the crowd. Grays hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers and Pond added a long-range bomb and two-pointer as well when the game was in doubt.

"We had a lot of guys step up and make key contributions at critical times in the game, and I love seeing that as a coach," Sanderson said. "Coastal Georgia is an extremely athletic team that caused us a lot of problems with their size. We changed some things and our guys showed a lot of determination here tonight."

Faulkner built the lead to 53-45 on a Hill 15-footer at the 11:40 mark and led 68-58 with just under five minutes to play. The Mariners (6-15 overall, 2-7 SSAC) then tried to lengthen the game by sending the Eagles to the free-throw line, a place they had struggled from for most of the night. Faulkner had made just 14-of-24 free throws through the first 35 minutes of play, but made 13 of its last 15 to salt the game away.

Luttrell finished with nine points and Monta Sanford grabbed six rebounds, as the much smaller Eagles narrowly lost the battle of the boards 34-33. Dominic Early, who entered the game averaging 22 points a game for Coastal Georgia, was held to 14 by a helping Faulkner defense. Marquice Jones had 13, while 7-footer Andrej Tomic added 12 and Malik Channer 10.

The first half was one of runs, with the energized Mariners getting out of the gates first en route to an 18-11 lead. Trailing 20-15 at the 10:57 mark, Hill then sparked an 11-0 Faulkner run. His seven points in the stretch allowed the Eagles to build a 26-20 lead with 7:07 left in the period. Faulkner wouldn't make another basket in the half, and the Mariners battled back as a result to take a 32-29 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

Faulkner travels to Mount Vernon, Ga., Saturday afternoon to face SSAC rival Brewton-Parker. The game tips off at 3 central time.