TOLEDO, Ohio – The College of Charleston men's basketball team shot 55.6 percent from the floor to get past Illinois-Chicago, 78-66, in the second of three-straight games in the subregional round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer held Saturday night at Savage Arena.

The Cougars (3-2) got off to a fast start with a 19-6 run and defensively held the Flames (2-2) without a bucket for more than four minutes of play including two shot-clock violations. A three-pointer by preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year Andrew Goudelock (Stone Mountain, Ga.) gave CofC its largest lead of the game, 33-15, at the 6:05 minute mark, but UIC never gave up and cut it down to 11 with a 40-29 margin at halftime.

The Flames caught second wind and went on a 13-6 run of their own to start the second half as they got within four of the Cougars, 46-42, on a dunk by Paul Carter, who ended the night with a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Robo Kreps scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half including a pair of free throws to get UIC within two, 55-53, with 10:29 remaining. UIC was sent to the line 19 times and made 13 to stay in the ballgame.

CofC would stretch its lead back out to double figures, 70-60, with six-straight points courtesy of a pair of layups by sophomore Willis Hall (Charlotte, N.C.) and a jumper by junior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) with 5:38 to go. Hall contributed 10 points and helped the Cougars win the rebound war, 36-27, for the first time this season with six boards.

Goudelock and senior Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) combined for 43 of the team's 78 points in the game with 26 and 17 respectively. A driving layup with 45 seconds left in regulation moved Goudelock into third all-time in career scoring with 1,815 career points surpassing former CofC standout Sam Meade, who had 1,812 points from 1970-74. Simmons scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.

CofC will close out 2K Sports Classic tournament play tomorrow against host Toledo (0-4) at 3 p.m. (ET). A live pay-per-view webcast feed of the game will be available on www.UTRockets.com and shared on www.CofCSports.com. Fans can also listen to the Toledo game live on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via an audio link at www.charlestonsportsradio.com.

POSTGAME NOTES
• For the fifth time this season and fifth consecutive game, CofC used the starting five of senior Donavan Monroe, senior Andrew Goudelock, redshirt junior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Willis Hall and senior Jeremy Simmons (3-2).
• With the win, the Cougars take a 1-0 lead in the all-time series versus Illinois-Chicago. CofC had never played a school hailing from the Horizon League in the 101-year history of the program.
• Andrew Goudelock registered his third consecutive 20-point outing and fourth of the season with a game-high tying 26 points. It marked the 30th 20-point game of his career. Goudelock's driving layup with 45 seconds to go in regulation moved him past former CofC player Sam Meade (1,812) on the all-time career scoring list for third. He has scored 1,815 career points to date.
• Jeremy Simmons slammed down his 100th career dunk at the 16:54 minute-mark of the first half of play. He turned in 17 points and eight rebounds against the Flames. Simmons and Goudelock are currently on a five-game double-digit scoring streak.
• Antwaine Wiggins led all CofC rebounders with a season-high nine. He also added a great stat line with eight points, three assists, one blocked shot and season-high three steals in 31 minutes of play.
• The Cougars played in their 2,000th game against UIC. They have now compiled a 1,091-909 all-time record (.546) since the 1898-99 campaign.
• CofC shot 55.6 percent from the floor (30-of-54) versus the Flames. It was the team's second-best field-goal percentage in a single game this season behind a 63.6 percentage at Holy Cross on Nov. 13. The Cougars have shot 50 percent or better in three of five games this year.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game …
“We got off to a great start and then we had to fight for our lives. I was hoping we wouldn't let them back into the game. They have a great shooter in (Robo) Kreps. He is a tough kid and kept them in the game and made some big shots. I give them a lot of credit. We had to make some baskets to win it. Andrew (Goudelock), of course, made some big ones, as did Donavan (Monroe) and Jeremy (Simmons). We really had to fight to win that game and the only bad thing was that we let them back into it in the second half.”

On preparing for Toledo …
“It's the same thing, another learning experience for us. We are a little tired. It's our third game in three days, but the other team has to play, too. The big thing I'm looking to see is what we need to improve on and it's pretty evident, so we are going to work our butts off to get better.”