Cougars knock down 17 three-pointers in 86-74 victory over Chattanooga

Thursday, February 4

Carolina First Arena

7 p.m.

College of Charleston

Chattanooga

Cougars knock down 17 three-pointers in 86-74 victory over Chattanooga

2/5/2010 2:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: CofCSports.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior guard Tony White, Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored a game-high 19 points and led five Cougars in double-figures, including a career-high 17 points from sophomore forward Matt Sundberg, as the College of Charleston (15-8, 10-2) notched an 86-74 victory over Chattanooga (13-11, 4-6) in a Southern Conference men's basketball game at the Carolina First Arena.

The win keeps CofC in first place of the South Division ahead of 8-3 Wofford as they prepare to host Samford this Saturday.

Tied at 15-15 with 11:45 to play in the first half, the Cougars used a 17-3 run over the next 3:50, keyed by four three-pointers, to take a commanding 32-18 lead. They did not look back as they stretched that advantage to 43-23 at the break to close out the first 20 minutes on a 28-8 run.

A 5-0 run by senior forward Casaan Breeden and three-pointers from White and junior guard Andrew Goudelock (Lilburn, Ga.) sparked a 14-5 run to start the second half as the Cougars pushed their lead to 29 points at 59-30 with 16:08 to play. Chattanooga fought back as they held CofC scoreless for the next four minutes, allowing them to narrow the gap to 59-46 at the 12:08 mark.

The Mocs would eventually get to within 10 points at 69-59 before the Cougars pushed the lead to 79-61 behind a dunk and layup from senior center Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) and a Sundberg three-pointer. From there, the Cougars held UTC at bay to close out the 86-74 victory.

“Chattanooga was down and out and I thought we were going to give them the knockout punch but they made a great comeback” said head coach Bobby Cremins. “They had a chance as they got right back in the game. They cut it to ten points and we were up 29. We were playing some great basketball and I have to look to see what happened. I give Chattanooga a lot of credit for that comeback.”

DeAntre Jefferson led Chattanooga with 13 points and seven rebounds while Ricky Taylor, Ty Patterson and Ridge McKeither each scored in double-figures with 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Dante Harvey chipped in with six points and six rebounds.

White led the attack for the College of Charleston as he scored a game-high 19 points and drilled 4-of-9 three point attempts while Goudelock and Sundberg each knocked down five threes to finish with 17 points each. Sundberg added five rebounds to go along with his career night while Goudelock posted a game-high tying six assists.

Simmons added a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds while junior guard Donavan Monore (Waxhaw, N.C.) finished with 10 points and five boards to round out the double-figure scorers for the Cougars.

As a team, CofC shot 38.6 percent from beyond the arc as they knocked down 17 of their program-high 44 attempts. Overall the Cougars shot 48.5 percent from the field, going 32-of-66.

The College of Charleston returns to action this weekend when they host the Samford Bulldogs (9-13, 3-7) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 6. That game will be aired on SportSouth and will be the second half of a double-header with the women's team.