Reyne Smith is best known for his 3-point shooting, but it was his clutch defense that played just as big a role in College of Charleston's dramatic 82-79 overtime win over Stony Brook in the CAA championship game at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
Smith, the tournament MVP, scored a team-high 23 points, including eight of the Cougars' nine in overtime, but also came up with two huge stops to lift the Cougars to their second straight conference title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Stony Brook ran off nine straight points to pull into a 73-73 tie and had the last possession of regulation with a chance to pull off the upset when Smith stripped the ball from Aaron Clarke to force overtime.
Smith then started the extra period with a driving layup and followed with a steal and fast break 3-pointer to make it 78-73. The second team All-CAA performer then put the finishing touches on the win with three free throws in the final 10 seconds.
Trailing 40-35 at halftime, Charleston went on a 20-6 run including 3-pointers by Frankie Policelli, CJ Fulton, Kobe Rodgers and Smith to take a 55-46 lead. The resilient Seawolves got back to within one before another Cougar surge gave them a seemingly comfortable lead.
Ben Burnham's layup and free throw followed by a Smith 3-pointer rebuilt the Cougar advantage to 66-56 with nine minutes left. Another bomb from Smith made it 73-64 at the 5:01 mark before Charleston was held scoreless the rest of regulation.
KEY COUGARS
- All five Cougar starters scored in double figures led by Reyne Smith with 23 including six 3-pointers. Smith also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
- Ben Burnham had 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
- Ante Brzovic and Frankie Policelli tallied 12 points, and Kobe Rodgers finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
- CJ Fulton had six points and six assists as Charleston dished out 16 helpers on its 29 field goals.
GAME NOTES
- Smith was joined by Policelli and Rodgers on the all-tournament team.
- Charleston became the first team to win back-to-back CAA titles since UNCW in 2016 and 2017.
- The Cougars have won three of the past seven CAA championships, the most by any team since Charleston joined the league in 2013-14.
- This will be the Cougars' seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program.
- Pat Kelsey won his fifth conference championship in the past eight years, including three at Winthrop before coming to Charleston.
- The Cougars will bring a 12-game winning streak into March Madness.
- The Cougars are 58-11 the past two seasons, the most wins in a two-year span in the Division I era and second in program history.
- Charleston remained undefeated in seven meetings against Stony Brook.
- The combined 28 3-pointers (13 for the Cougars, 15 for the Seawolves) are the most in a CAA final.
UP NEXT
Charleston will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent, site and date during the CBS Selection Show on Sunday at 6 pm.
