CofC Wins Double Overtime Thriller Over Furman, 80-77

Monday, February 19

Greenville, SC

7 p.m.

College of Charleston

Furman

CofC Wins Double Overtime Thriller Over Furman, 80-77

2/19/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: CofCSports.com

The College of Charleston men's basketball team scored 16 points in two overtime periods, including six from Dontaye Draper, to earn a thrilling 80-77 victory over Furman in double overtime before 3,572 at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, S.C. on Monday.

The victory improves CofC to 19-9 overall and 12-4 in the SoCon, while the loss drops Furman to 14-13 and 8-8 in the SoCon.

The last time CofC competed in a game that went into double overtime was on Jan. 12, 1995, when they beat Charleston Southern, 81-73, at the John Kresse Arena.

Both teams played evenly to begin the game and a three-pointer by Renardo Dickerson with 8:19 left in the first half tied the score at 15. However, Furman proceeded to close the half on a 12-9 run to take a 27-24 lead going into halftime.

The Cougars shot 37.0 percent from the field in the first half and made four out of 12 three-point field goal attempts. The Paladins shot 40.0 percent and made three out of nine three-pointers.

Furman started the second half strongly and a three-pointer by Alex Opacic with 16:14 left in regulation gave the Paladins their largest lead of the game, 37-28. Charleston responded by going on a 22-14 run that was culminated with a lay-up by Josh Jackson to make the score 51-50 in favor of Furman.

The Cougars had a chance to win in regulation, but Tony White, Jr. missed a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in the game and the two teams were tied at 64 going into overtime.

Furman held a 68-66 lead in the first overtime period with eight seconds remaining, but Dontaye Draper was fouled in a shooting attempt by Eric Webb. Draper proceeded to make both of his free throw attempts and the game was tied at 68 going in the second overtime.

Tony White, Jr. opened the second overtime period by making a lay-up while being fouled and converting the free-throw attempt with 4:12 left to gave CofC the 71-68 lead. Furman took the lead, but Jermaine Johnson's lay-up with 2:54 left tied the score for the eighth time in the game and knotted the two teams at 73. Johnson missed the subsequent free throw, but Jackson's offensive rebound and lay-up with 2:52 left gave the Cougars the lead, 75-73.

For the overtime periods, Charleston made four out of nine field goals and eight out of 10 free throws. Furman managed to make four out of 14 field goals and all five of it's free throw attempts.

For the game, Charleston shot 40.8 percent from the field, making 29 out of 71 field goal attempts and made nine out of 32 three-pointers. Furman made 26 out of 65 field goals for a percentage of 40.0 and made 10 out of 32 threes.

Furman grabbed more rebounds than Charleston, 44-43, and had more turnovers, 18-13. CofC's 43 rebounds were the second highest total for a game this season. The Cougars grabbed 45 rebounds at Coastal Carolina on Dec. 18, 2006. The Cougars were able to gain 24 second chance points, while Furman managed only nine.

Draper scored a team-high 18 points, while Johnson had 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Johnson has had seven double-doubles in his career. Philip also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cougars. David Lawrence had 12 points, while White, Jr. and Josh Jackson each had 11.

Moussa Diagne scored a game-high 34 points and Alex Opacic had 18 points for the Paladins. Gerad Punch had a game-high and career-high 14 rebounds for Furman.

The Cougars will return to action on Feb. 22 to face cross-town rival, The Citadel, at the John Kresse Arena beginning at 7 p.m. Furman will travel to Davidson, N.C. to face Davidson on Feb. 22 beginning at 7 p.m.