Donavan Monroe (Waxhaw, N.C.) scored a career-high 29 points, 22 of them coming in the first half, as the College of Charleston men's basketball team downed Elon, 80-77, tonight at the Carolina First Arena.
Charleston improved to 17-9 overall and 12-3 in the Southern Conference. It marked the 17th time in 18 seasons the Cougars have posted at least 17 wins. Elon fell to 6-18 and 4-9 in the league.
"I can see now why this team can beat anybody," said Head Coach Bobby Cremins. "I can see why they beat Western Carolina and I can see why they won at Furman. We were fortunate tonight. The key was that we hung in there and that Andrew made some great drives at the end. The bottom line is, we got the victory and that's great but we have to play better. We hung in there and got the win and I'm happy about that."
After Monroe opened the second half with a jumper, Elon went on a 17-6 run that saw a 13-point lead dwindle to two, 57-55 with 12:44 to go. Charleston responded with a jumper by Tony White, Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.), who had 10 on the night, and a three-pointer by Andrew Lawrence (London, England) to take the lead to seven with 11:52 remaining.
Elon sliced away at the Cougar lead and tied it up off a layup and free throw by Scott Grable, who had 12 points in the game. Tied 64-64 with 7:13 to go, Andrew Goudelock (Lilburn, Ga.), posted back-to-back jumpers as the Cougars used an 11-4 run over the next five minutes to take the lead back to seven with just under two minutes to play. Charleston went five-for-six from the charity stripe down the stretch to help secure the 80-77 win. The Cougars gave up a three-pointer as time expired to cut the margin to three and make it appear closer.
Adam Constantine nailed a jumper, two of his 24 points on the night, at the 4:47 mark in the first half to cut the Cougar lead to two before Casaan Breeden (Clio, S.C.) hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to five. Charleston out-scored Elon 16-7 the remainder of the half and went into the locker room with the 11-point, 49-38, lead.
Despite shooting 53.1 percent from the field, the Cougars were just a season-low four-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc. Elon shot 41.4 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the three-point arc. Elon out-rebounded the Cougars 42-37 and had one less turnover, 5-6.
Goudelock followed Monroe, who tied the season-high with his 29 points, in scoring with 12 on the night. Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) led the team in rebounds with nine. Constantine led Elon with his 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Grable followed with 12.
The Cougars host Appalachian State Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Carolina First Arena in their final home game of the season. Tickets are still available. To purchase tickets please visit www.CofCSports.com or call 843.953.CofC (2632).
