GREENSBORO, N.C. — 

In the opening game of the 11th annual SpringHill Suites Guilford Holiday Classic, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy men's basketball team fell to tournament hosts Guilford College, 84-116. The Bears were unable to keep up with Guilford's high-octane offense on the first half, which entered the game at fifth-best in the nation in scoring.

Coast Guard moves to 4-5, while the Quakers improve to 5-4. Guilford will take on the winners of the tournament's other game, Concordia College Moorhead (7-2) and Skidmore College (4-3), tomorrow at a to-be-determined time.

Luke Farrell (Ortley Beach, N.J.) led the Coast Guard effort with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds, also adding a block and a steal. Trevor Parks (Clearwater, Fla.) had 12 points, going 3-for-6 on three-pointers, while playing just 14 minutes due to foul trouble. Elijah Parent (Bristol, Conn.) had a solid defensive night, recording a block and tallying three steals.

Guilford's offensive onslaught saw 18 of the team's 19 players log minutes, with six of them registering double-digit point totals. Gabe Proctor had 23 points to pace the Quakers, followed by Braylen Salters' 18 and Rival Axselle's 16. Dawson Edwards had seven steals to lead the defense.

The score was close for the first five minutes, with back-to-back baskets by Aiden Dabbondanza (Gaithersburg, Md.) and statesman Walker Corbin (Weaverville, N.C.) making it a 15-14 game with 14:40 remaining, but that was the last time Coast Guard held a lead as Guilford rattled off a 26-5 run over the next five minutes. The Bears faced a 64-36 deficit going into halftime and were outscored by a 52-48 margin in a much closer second half.

The first half saw Guilford shoot 48.8% from the field and 8-for-19 on threes (42.1%), while the Bears went a respective 30.8% and 7-for-22 (31.8%). The Quakers also reached the line in Doncician manner, going 16-25 from the charity stripe. The hosts also employed an aggressive full court press in the first half to force 14 of the Bears' eventual 20 turnovers and ten of their 12 total steals for the game.

Bears men's basketball will close out their trip to North Carolina tomorrow against the losers of the Concordia-Skidmore game.