Nick Farrar Comes Off the Bench Adding Game High 23 Pts.
By: Jeff Walker, Sportswriter
Sophomore Nick Farrar scored a career best 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with two seconds remaining, as the College of Charleston men’s basketball team rallied from 11 down to beat Elon 64-62 on the Phoenix’ home court Saturday afternoon. The Cougars have now won four out of their last five games including three straight, as they improve to 13-9 overall and .500 in the CAA 5-5.
Trailing by double digits (37-26) with 15:52 left to play CofC stayed the course cutting it to three possessions with less than four minutes remaining. When Raekwon Horton drained a long-range missile with 2:09 on the clock the Cougars were within two. Farrar would close out the contest with four of Charleston’s final six points including the game winner. With the loss Elon fall to 4-7 in the league and 7-17 on the season.
After out-pacing their opponents by double figures and scoring over 80 points in their last two contests, the Cougars could only hit for a season low three 3-pointers, as they finished shooting 38 percent overall against Elon. Charleston made up the difference on defense, forcing the Phoenix to turn the ball over 20 times, while grabbing 14 offensive rebounds that allowed for 15 second chance points.
In a contest that went down to the wire, CofC head coach Pat Kelsey said he told his players simply it was a culture win. ‘We preach culture so much, I know that is an over-used word in sports, but it’s something that really means a lot to us, and that was a culture win. On a night where we were shooting it awful. We were 3 of 23 from three. I credit Elon for that, because I thought we had a ton of open looks.”
Farrar who is one of a few breakout players to present as the future for CofC, was the lone Cougar in double figures coming off the bench to hit 9 of 15 from the field, adding 5 of 5 from the line. While Charleston made only 3 of 23 long range attempts, they did make it up at the line, hitting 19 of 22 from the charity stripe.
Senior John Meeks shot just 2 of 10, adding a lone 3-pointer, finishing the game with nine points for CofC. Usually, hot hitting Brenden Tucker went 0-5 on the afternoon, but hauled in a game best eight rebounds for the Cougars.
Elon who has been up and down on offense all season long were led by Hunter McIntosh who went 5 of 5 from the line, and 3 of 9 from beyond the arc for 20 points for the home team. Teammate Darius Burford went 5 of 11 overall with one 3-pointer for 14 points. A few more turnovers and less trips to the free throw line prevented Elon from pulling off a victory on their home court. Surprisingly Elon led the game until the final minute of play.
Coach Kelsey said his team stepped up when it mattered. ‘We led for 29 seconds, but they were the most important 29 seconds in the game.” He gave equal amount of praise to Farrar. “Obviously Nick Farrar was sensational. He’s a kid who has a very bright future, knows his weaknesses, but knows he has a long way to go. I have a little nickname for him, ‘Notebook Nick’, because when he goes to film sessions and team meetings, he always brings a notebook with him to take notes.”
The Cougars head to UNC Wilmington to face the Seahawks on the road next Saturday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET on FloSports.
