Box Score BRUNSWICK – Shortly after missing his only shot of the afternoon Saturday, ABAC freshman point guard Matthew Mairena made up for it in the biggest way.

Tied at 65-65 with the College of Coastal Georgia in Coastal Georgia Classic, Mairena scored a crucial layup to give the Stallions a lead with 20 seconds left to play. That lead held up for a close win in the Coastal Georgia Classic.

The game-winner capped a great night for Mairena, who hit 8 of 9 shots from the field for a game-high 18 points. ABAC led the game 31-24 at halftime and by as many as 13 points after back-to-back 3-pointers from T.J. Smith and Mairena made it 61-48 with 7:48 left to play. That's when Coastal began a furious rally to set up the dramatic finish.

The Mariners went on a 14-2 run, capped by Kaden McArthur's layup with 2:20 remaining to cut the lead to 63-62. ABAC's Matas Adietis scored inside off an assist from Bryce Wimberly but a free throw by Valdy Zephir and a layup by Jeremiah Camara tied it at 65-65 before Mairena's game-winner.

Tommie Hall added 12 for the Stallions while Wimberly chipped in 11 and Smith had nine points to go with a game-high nine rebounds.

In Saturday's tournament opener, the Stallions suffered through a dreadful offensive first half en route to an 81-68 loss to Oakland City College from Indiana. ABAC was 7 of 28 from the field before halftime and trailed 38-16. The deficit was too much to overcome as ABAC never put together a big run in the second half.

Smith led ABAC with 24 points while Xavier Boyd added 14 and Hall scored 12.

ABAC, now 5-5, will finish its pre-Christmas schedule with a conference game on the road Tuesday at Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon at 7:30 p.m.