College of Charleston
UNCG
CofC Downs UNCG, 69-56; Takes on WCU on Saturday
3/6/2009 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The College of Charleston built an 18-point first half advantage and led wire-to-wire to down UNC Greensboro 69-56 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship Friday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena.
The third-seeded Cougars improve to 24-7 on the season and advance to face the SoCon North Division second seed Western Carolina Catamounts in a quarterfinal round contest at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.
CofC sophomore Jeremy Simmons connected on all eight of his field goal attempts to score a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds while Dustin Scott notched a double-double with 10 points and career-best 16 boards. Tony White Jr. and Andrew Goudelock also reached double figures for the Cougars with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Charleston held the Spartans to 32 percent shooting from the floor and a 3-of-13 effort from three-point range while the Cougars shot 41 percent and held a 49-41 edge in rebounding. CofC registered eight blocked shots and committed just 11 turnovers.
Leading 14-9 at the 15-minute mark of the first half, the Cougars began a 19-6 run and held UNC Greensboro (5-25) to just six points over the next 12:46 to fashion a 33-15 advantage before carrying a 37-23 lead into the half.
Ben Stywall posted a double-double for UNCG with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but the Spartans were unable to trim the Cougar lead to single digits in the second half. Pete Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Game Notes
1. Jeremy Simmons career-high 18 points ...
2. Dustin Scott career-high 16 rebounds, career-high nine offensive rebounds ... most CofC rebounds in a SoCon Tournament game since Jody Lumpkin pulled down 18 boards in a 57-54 loss to Davidson on March 2, 2001 at the Bi-Lo Center ...
3. Donavan Monroe career-high seven assists ... one shy of CofC's SoCon Tournament record of eight set by Shane McCravy in Charleston's 77-67 win over App. State in the title game on Feb. 28, 1999 at the Greensboro Coliseum ...
4. CofC allowed a season-low 56 points ...
5. Jermaine Johnson moved into 16th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,249 points ... he moved pass John Drafts (1974-78) who scored 1,241 points ..
6. Simmons' 8-for-8 from the floor was a school record in the SoCon Tournament ... Troy Wheless was 7-for-8 vs App. State on Feb. 28, 2002 ... an 85-61 CofC win at the North Charleston Coliseum ....
