Coast Guard took a 7-3 lead early on before Johnson Wales took the lead 16-14 with 11:25 left in the first half, the Wildcats never trailed the rest of the way.
Brian Bannister (14 points) made two free throws with 4.4 seconds left and Al Sowers off balance three-pointer at the buzzer was no good as the Wildcats held on for the victory.
Johnson & Wales (1-0) led 34-28 at halftime.
The Wildcats built a 55-42 lead with just under 10 minutes left before Coast Guard’s Craig Johnson scored the next seven points and Sowers had a steal and a basket to pull the Bears to within 55-51 with 7:30 left. Johnson led the Bears with 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds while Sowers added 20 points.
Coast Guard trailed 63-56 with five minutes left before making four-of-six free throws and cutting the lead to 63-60 with 1:15 left.
Jeff Prebeck’s hoop with seven seconds left cut the lead to 63-62. Prebeck had 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Bears (0-1).
Fernandes was four-of-six from three-point range while Bannister led Johnson & Wales with eight rebounds and four assists.