Cougars Sweep Tribe In CAA, Tucker Leads All Scorers With 21 Pts.
By: Jeff Walker, Sportswriter
The College of Charleston men’s basketball team have now won three of their last four games, including back-to-back impressive wins downing William & Mary on the road 84-61 Thursday night. The Cougars missed only 10 shots (19 of 29) in the final 20 minutes of play adding six 3-pointers in their 49 second half points.
After a last second win (74-73) over William & Mary on January 26 at TD Arena, the Cougars have now swept the Tribe in league play in less than 10 days. With the victory Charleston improve to 12-9 overall and edge closer to the .500 mark (4-5) in the CAA.
Coming off an 81-63 home win against Northeastern last Saturday, it would appear CofC have found some much needed mid-season conference mojo. Brenden Tucker led five players in double figures as the Cougars got off to a quick start, up 23-11 after Ben Burnham nailed a 3-pointer with 9:45 left to play in the first half. But a rally by William & Mary would allow the home team to go into the locker down 35-30 at intermission.
Charleston would continue their strong offensive play after the break maintaining a three-possession lead over the next six minutes. When Osinachi Smart made a short jumper with 13:58 showing the Cougars were up by 14 points (53-39). Five straight by William & Mary would cut the margin to nine points before CofC went on a 31-17 run that had them up by 25 points in the final 33 seconds of the contest.
Reyne Smith who scored 11 first half points finished with 14 for the Cougars including 3 of 6 from long range. Dimitrius Underwood went 6 of 9 from the floor for 12 points, while grabbing a game high eight rebounds. Burnham and John Meeks chipped in 11 apiece for the winning team.
Aside from 17 turnovers the final stats favored the College of Charleston. The Cougars outrebounded the Tribe 40-27. CofC shot 57 percent overall on the night, with W&M completing just 20 of 56 attempts for 36 percent. While both teams attempted 24 shots from long range, the Cougars made nine, with the Tribe knocking down just five missiles.
Three players for William & Mary hit for double figures with Connor Kochera leading the Tribe with 17 points, adding two from beyond the arc. Teammates Ben Wight and Brandon Carroll added 10 each for the home team in a losing effort. With the loss the Tribe fall to 5-18 overall and 4-6 in league play.
The Cougars will attempt to extend to a three-game win streak as Charleston continues their road trip facing Elon on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. on FloSports.
