CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four players scored in double figures including a game-high 29 points from preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year Andrew Goudelock (Stone Mountain, Ga.) to lead College of Charleston to a 21-point rout of The Citadel, 87-66, on Saturday afternoon before a sell-out crowd of 5,162 fans at Carolina First Arena.
It was sweet redemption for the Cougars (12-5, 5-0), and the Senior Class comprised of Goudelock, Donavan Monroe (Waxhaw, N.C.) and Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.), who had lost their two previous meetings in the two-year-old arena to their cross-town rivals.
Goudelock, the No. 8 scorer in the nation averaging 23.1 points leading into the game, shot 10-of-18 from the field, 6-of-11 from three-point land and also dished out seven assists. It marked the third win in a row for the Cougars, who are off to an undefeated 5-0 start to Southern Conference play. They shot 48.4 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from behind the arc to end the home court skid versus the rebuilding Bulldogs (5-13, 1-5).
Junior Antwaine Wiggins (Greenville, Tenn.) and Monroe added 12 points each, while Simmons had 10. CofC led by as many as 34 points on a three-pointer by freshman Jordan Scott (Darlington, S.C.) with 3:43 remaining in regulation. The Cougars outrebounded The Citadel, 35-29, with sophomore Willis Hall (Charlotte, N.C.) grabbing nine boards. He scored nine of the team's first 12 points in the ballgame.
Cameron Wells led The Citadel with 26 points followed by Mike Groselle with 15.
The Cougars have a quick turnaround as they travel to Chattanooga (9-8, 5-0) for a Monday, Jan. 17 matchup at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) and the game will be televised regionally on CSS.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 15th time this season, CofC used the starting lineup of senior Donavan Monroe, senior Andrew Goudelock, junior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Willis Hall and senior Jeremy Simmons (10-5).
• With the win, the Cougars and Senior Class claim their first-ever victory over The Citadel in the two-year-old Carolina First Arena. CofC avenged two previous losses in the venue during the inaugural campaign (L, 58-72) in 2008-09 and (L, 65-72) in 2009-10. The Cougars have won two of the last three meetings between the two cross-town rivals.
• CofC saw its third-largest crowd in Carolina First Arena history with 5,162 fans in attendance behind the Davidson game (5,368) on Dec. 29, 2008 and The Citadel game (5,168) on Feb. 14, 2009.
• CofC has now hosted sell-out games twice this season against Clemson on Dec. 22 and The Citadel. It marked the program's 10th all-time sell-out crowd at Carolina First Arena, which opened in November of 2008. Three of those 10 games have been sold out when playing the Bulldogs.
• Andrew Goudelock made his 10th career dunk on a steal and dish under the basket from Andrew Lawrence at the 9:04 minute mark of the first half. He scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor and a season-high tying 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. It marked his 35th 20-point game of his career. Goudelock is now 44 points away from breaking the school's all-time career scoring mark held by former CofC standout Ken Gustafson (2,135) with 2,092 career points to date.
• For the fourth consecutive game, Willis Hall led the team in rebounding with a game-high nine of the team's 35 boards against the Bulldogs. CofC has now outrebounded its opponent on nine different occasions this season including in each of its last three SoCon games versus Furman (+5), Wofford (+3) and The Citadel (+6).
• CofC drained 13 three-pointers in the ballgame courtesy of a season-high tying six by Andrew Goudelock, a season-high tying four by Antwaine Wiggins, two by sophomore Andrew Lawrence and a career-and season-high tying one by freshman Jordan Scott. The Cougars have knocked down 10-or-more threes in a game four times this season behind a season-high 14 at Tennessee on Dec. 31.
• Twelve of the team's 13 active players on the roster saw four minutes of action or more against The Citadel including walk-ons Garrett Campbell (4) and Jordan Turok (4) and freshmen Nori Johnson (4), James Carlton (8) and Jordan Scott (7). Scott poured in a career-high five points and one rebound.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game …
“There was a lot of talk about them beating us in this building the last two years. We wanted to be ready. They are tough and they played with confidence. The timing favored us. They were coming off a tough Thursday night game where they lost by one point (to Chattanooga). We had the extra benefit of getting to rest. Andrew Lawrence saved us. He did a great job and came off the bench and made some big shots. In the beginning of the second half, we took control of the game with (Andrew) Goudelock making those bombs. We had great respect for this team. I have great respect for what they do over there. Kids like that, protect our country, and I have great respect for The Citadel. They came in here the last two years and whipped our butts. We were trying to not let that happen again. (Antwaine) Wiggins really got us going. He defended Wells a lot better in the second half than he did in the first half.”
On telling Goudelock to look for his shot in the second half …
“I always tell him to look for his shot. He can shoot it anytime he wants to. But, he wants to be more than a pure shooter. He wants to be able to be a driver. When you have the shot, you have to take it.”
On getting a win at home against The Citadel …
“I'm happy to win against The Citadel at home. I'm sure when we go over there, it will be a wild one.”
College of Charleston Senior Guard Andrew Goudelock
On his play in the second half and the big win at home against The Citadel …
“Coach (Cremins) told me they were giving me a lot of shots and I was passing them up. I always like to look for my teammates. Sometimes I don't look for my shots. I hit a couple of open shots and I started to get into a rhythm. We want to get every win every game we play, so it's not just any special win. The next game we play, is always our most important game, so this was our most important game today.”
On beating The Citadel and playing against Cameron Wells …
“They have beaten us the last two years since we have had this new arena. He (Cameron Wells) is so competitive and I look forward to playing against him. He is very hard to guard. He plays good defense and he wants the best for his team. I respect that from him.”
College of Charleston Junior Forward Antwaine Wiggins
On his performance today and his three-point shooting ability …
“It feels good. It's something I have been working on a lot this summer. Whenever my teammates find me for a wide-open shot, it just makes it harder for the other team to play defense against us when I can knock down a wide-open shot.”
The Citadel Head Coach Chuck Driesell
On the game …
“That's a heck of a ballclub right there and we knew that coming in. I give them (College of Charleston) a lot of credit. They are a very good basketball team. I told my guys, 'don't worry about anything, we put everything we could out there and we will have another shot at them.' We have to learn from what happened out there today and move on to the next game. We were right there and then they got used to our zone. I thought our zone was very effective, until they hit a couple of threes and then we got in such a hole, we had to go back to our man and they executed their stuff.”
On the skill level of Andrew Goudelock …
“We have played some really good teams this year and I would say he is probably the best player we have played against. In terms of what I have seen at Maryland and over the course of my coaching career, he is an exciting and fun player to watch, except when you're sitting in my seat. He has a quick release, he has a lot of confidence, he has a lot of balance and he can go left and right. He is a very special player. I'm sure he is going to be playing basketball well after this year.”
The Citadel Senior Guard Cameron Wells
On the loss …
“They started making shots and got some offensive rebounds. We just didn't execute down the stretch. We have to keep our heads up. We have to come to practice and get better and play as a team. The wins will come. The games are close, we just have to execute and keep working on what we need to do.”
