College of Charleston Hoops

Kent State Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:33:35 +0000

Sophomore Nori Johnson scored a career-high 27 points including 16 in the first half of play as College of Charleston handed Kent State only its second home loss of the season, 80-73, in an ESPN Sears BracketBusters matchup held on Feb. 18 before a crowd of 3,682 at the M.A.C. Center.

The Cougars held off a late rally by the Golden Flashes, who went cold from behind the three-point line for the majority of the ballgame (0-of-18) and then 6-of-11 as part of an 18-1 run which cut CofC’s lead down to 68-66 with 3:53 remaining in regulation. Senior Antwaine Wiggins scored seven crucial points in the last two minutes, including a 5-for-6 performance from the charity stripe, to seal the victory and snap the Golden Flashes’ seven-game win streak.

Video Music: Tonight Is The Night by Outasight

Samford Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:46:49 +0000

Senior Antwaine Wiggins knocked down a career-high 25 points to lead College of Charleston to a 68-52 road victory at Samford on Jan. 30 at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala. It marked the Cougars’ first win in five games as they remained an undefeated 12-0 in the all-time series with the Bulldogs. Junior Matt Sundberg scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-10 from three-point land.

With the win, CofC Interim Head Coach Mark Byington claimed his first career coaching victory since taking over the reins of the program after CofC Head Coach Bobby Cremins took a medical leave of absence on Jan. 27. He is now 1-1 as the program’s acting head coach and is undoubtedly one of the top young coaching minds in the country.

The Cougars were fortunate to fly a charter plane to Alabama with the support of the Cougar Club and its members who traveled with the team on the trip. We had a lot of Maroon and White in the stands tonight including the Wiedeman’s, the Benton’s and Coach Byington’s wife, Christy. We thank all of our fans for continuing to support us and Congratulations to Twaine and Coach B!

Video Music: The Champ by Nelly

Coastal Carolina Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:58:50 +0000

Redshirt junior Matt Sundberg scored 15 of his career-high tying 17 points, including a half-court buzzer beater before the half, to lead College of Charleston to a 77-70 road win at Coastal Carolina on Dec. 22 at Kimbel Arena. Sundberg was one of three players to score in double figures for the Cougars. Junior Andrew Lawrence kept CofC ahead in the second half as Coastal Carolina cut into a 17-point lead by the Cougars at the 14:37 minute mark. He knocked down 11 of his game-high 18 points including two key three-pointers in the half to keep the Chanticleers at bay.

The Cougars’ zone defense held Coastal Carolina, the nation’s third-best field-goal shooting team (51.8), to just 46.2 percent from the floor. Former Georgia Tech and NBA star Travis Best spoke to the team in the locker room after the game. He played for Coach Cremins and was drafted in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. Former CofC standout Tony White, Jr., who is currently playing for the ABA’s South Carolina Warriors, also paid a visit with the Cougars the night before during the team’s dinner at the hotel.

Video Music: My Life Be Like by Grits

Louisville Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:41:20 +0000

The College of Charleston had No. 4 Louisville on the ropes for much of the game and just missed a chance to be the second Southern Conference team to knock off a Top 25 opponent in as many days, falling 69-62 on Dec. 20 at the KFC Yum! Center. CofC led 59-58 with 4:03 to play but Louisville scored the next eight points after wearing down the Cougars with a full-court assault on defense. Senior forward Antwaine Wiggins had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars which tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers.

“It was a heck of a ballgame. Their pressure finally caught up to us down the stretch,” CofC Head Coach Bobby Cremins said. “Their pressure is relentless.” Louisvillle Head Coach Rick Pitino knew his team was in a battle to remain undefeated. “We knew this was going to be a war,” Pitino said. “We knew it’d be a great team. For about 32, 33 minutes, they were the better basketball team.”

Video Music: Beautiful Day by U2

Tennessee Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:29:37 +0000

For the second-straight season, the College of Charleston men’s basketball team knocked off SEC foe Tennessee, 71-65, while entertaining yet another sell-out crowd of 5,137 fans on Dec. 14 at TD Arena. The Cougars extended their home-court win streak to 14 consecutive games and have now won their last five straight, while the Volunteers lost their fourth in a row. It marks the second-best start in the first nine games of a season in the Bobby Cremins Era next to the team’s 2008-09 campaign. Senior Antwaine Wiggins provided the offensive spark as he tied his career high with a game-high 24 points, including 15 in the second half, and shot an impressive 10-of-12 from the field. He also pulled down eight rebounds and made three assists.

Video Music: My Time by Fabolous & Jeremih

Chattanooga Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:10:20 +0000

Junior Andrew Lawrence, who currently ranks No. 18 nationally in assist-t0-turnover ratio (3.23), netted a career-high 25 points to lead the College of Charleston men’s basketball team to an 87-85 double-overtime thriller over preseason North Division favorite Chattanooga in Southern Conference action on Dec. 3 at TD Arena. Lawrence scored five points in the final 10 seconds of regulation including a coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer to send the game to the first overtime period. He also added five assists and four steals, while hitting a team-best five three-pointers from downtown.

It was the second-straight year in which the annual once-a-year meeting between the Cougars (7-1, 2-0) and Mocs (2-6, 0-2) was decided by three points or less. CofC avenged a close 91-88 road loss at UTC on Jan. 17, 2011. CofC remains undefeated at home this season, while the win marked the first double-overtime contest for the program since 2008. The Cougars are off to a perfect 2-0 start to SoCon play for the fourth consecutive season under head coach Bobby Cremins.

It was also only the third all-time overtime game for CofC in its three-year-old home venue next to an 82-80 OT win over South Carolina in 2008 and a 100-87 OT upset of No. 9-ranked North Carolina in 2010. The Cougars will have a bye week to focus on final exams on campus before hosting 2011 NCAA Tournament participant Tennessee in a much-anticipated rematch on Dec. 14 on ESPN2.

Video Music: More (RedOne Remix) by Usher

The Citadel Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:19:55 +0000

The College of Charleston men’s basketball team opened up Southern Conference play with a convincing 83-64 rout of The Citadel on Dec. 1 before its 16th all-time sell-out crowd of 5,101 at TD Arena. The Cougars have now won the last three-straight meetings between the two crosstown rivals.

Sophomore big man Trent Wiedeman registered a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Bulldogs to mark his sixth career double-double. CofC also made a season-low 10 turnovers in the ballgame, while The Citadel committed an opponent season-high 21 miscues on the court. It was a historic night for CofC Athletics as the Charleston Sports Network officially debuted on the air with Voice of the Cougars Jeff McCarragher handling play-by-play duties and veteran broadcaster Nate Ross and legendary CofC head coach John Kresse providing color commentary on MyTV Charleston and ESPN3.

Video Music: How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox Twenty

UNC Asheville and UMass Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:31:34 +0000

After three-straight days of basketball, the Cougars closed out tournament play at the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis with a 2-1 record with victories over 2011 NCAA Tournament participant UNC Asheville (68-66) on Nov. 25 and UMass (85-61) on Nov. 26. They rebounded well from a tough opening-round loss to UCF, but were able to still give thanks and remain in the holiday spirit hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner with fans, boosters, family and friends after the game.

One thing great about extensive road trips, especially with a young, new team, is the bonding experience a six-day schedule can help your team build on its chemistry and camaraderie. Coach Cremins and his coaching staff recruit only the best kids first and players second. You’ll never see one without a smile on their face or enjoying the lighter things in life. It is a very tight-knit family and we thank our Cougar Club supporters and fans who joined us and made the trip possible.

Congratulations to freshman back-up point guard Anthony Stitt for knocking down a career-high 23 points against the UMass. Our freshmen are really making a huge impact early. Southern Conference play is ahead and CofC is off to a 5-1 start. We hope you will join us to pack the house at TD Arena against The Citadel on Dec. 1 and Chattanooga on Dec. 3. Until then, Go Cougars!!

Video Music: Best Years of Our Lives by Baha Men

Central Florida Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:36:39 +0000

The College of Charleston men’s basketball team set off to the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament traveling in comfort and style via a charter plane with close to 50 Cougar Club boosters to Paradise Island, Bahamas, on Nov. 22. Upon their arrival, they were police escorted to the hotel and soon enjoyed a buffet dinner with all of the fixings. Junior Willis Hall was a good sport as he was serenaded by the Atlantis Resort staff wishing him, with the rest of the team, a Happy 21st Birthday.

Like any road trip, it’s all business and the focus is always on basketball. However, the Cougars enjoyed the day off on Nov. 23 to take in the resort’s immediate access to the beach and ocean as well as the waterpark and slides. Later that night, the team enjoyed a welcome dinner along with the seven other schools in the tournament field including defending national champion Connecticut, Harvard, Central Florida, UNC Asheville, Utah, Florida State and UMass. They were also greeted by team host, Miss South Carolina USA Erika Powell, and unofficial team host, Miss North Carolina USA Sydney Perry (for the North Carolinians on our roster).

CofC opened the tournament with a 74-63 loss to Central Florida on Thanksgiving Day on VERSUS network. The Knights who would go on to reach the finals after upsetting No. 4-ranked UConn on the second day of play. It was another chance for the coaching staff to learn more about the team at such an early point of the season. Sophomore forward Trent Wiedeman led the Cougars in scoring with 19 points, while junior point guard Andrew Lawrence turned in his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-best 10 assists with only two turnovers.

Video Music: Roll Up by Wiz Khalifa

Clemson Video Recap

cofcsportscom — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:50:14 +0000

It can’t get any better than winning at an ACC school for your first road trip of the season, especially for a young, mid-major team in rebuilding mode. The Cougars, armed with confidence and momentum after season-opening wins against Holy Cross and Morehead State, claimed only their second-ever victory in the 11-game all-time series with Clemson on Nov. 19 at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. It was their first-ever road win in the series in seven tries and first win against the Tigers since a 30-10 victory on Jan. 20, 1925 at the Sumter Guard Armory in Charleston, S.C.

CofC has now knocked off a major conference opponent on the road for two-straight years next to a 91-78 victory at Tennessee on Dec. 31, 2010 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Cougars are also off to a 3-0 start to the season for the first time in eight years and first under sixth-year head coach Bobby Cremins. Senior Antwaine Wiggins scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field with four of the team’s five three-pointers in the contest, while freshman Anthony Stitt played a career-high 27 minutes with eight points and two assists with zero turnovers against the stunned Tigers.

Former CofC walk-on Jordan Turok was in attendance at the game as well as Coach Cremins’ former Georgia Tech point guard and NBA All-Star Mark Price. It’s always nice for the team to reunite with family and friends and have Maroon and White support in the stands, especially in such as tough environment as Clemson.

Video Music: Ours by The Bravery