College of Charleston
Holy Cross
Cougars Use Explosive First Half To Knock Off Holy Cross, 78-69
11/12/2011 3:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's basketball team used an explosive first half to knock off Holy Cross, 78-69, in its season opener held Friday night before a sellout crowd of 4,963 at TD Arena.
Senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) led all scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Trent Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.) notched his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior point guard Andrew Lawrence (London, England) was one of four Cougars in double figures with 16 points including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Ten of his points came in the second half as he made it to the free throw line 11 times. Freshman Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) scored 11 points in his official collegiate debut, while also grabbing eight rebounds.
R.J. Evans led Holy Cross with 16 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting. Dave Dudzinski and Devin Brown each scored 14 points as the Crusaders fell to 0-1 on the season.
CofC (1-0) shot 44.0 percent (22-50) from the field and outrebounded the Crusaders, 40-34. The Cougars' perimeter defense was stout, holding Holy Cross to just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc. However, the Cougars struggled from the free throw line, especially in the second half, hitting just 64.3 percent (27-42).
Defensively, the Cougars forced 19 turnovers, including 11 in the first half, and converted those opportunities into 22 points.
CofC built a 40-19 lead at the half with Wiedeman and Wiggins both posting 10 points apiece in the first frame. The Cougars jumped out to a 9-0 lead after an alley-oop from Lawrence to Wiggins on the game's opening possession.
CofC led by as many as 24 at the 4:05 minute mark of the first half as a three-pointer from Wiggins made the margin, 39-15. Holy Cross opened the second half strong, scoring 11-straight points to cut the Cougars' lead to 42-30 at the 17:08 mark after a fast-break layup by Evans. A trey from Lawrence briefly stopped the run, but the Crusaders scored on consecutive possessions to make it 45-34.
However, Holy Cross could not pull closer as Wiggins scored four points in the next two-minute stretch, and Jordan Scott came alive, hitting a three-pointer and then making a steal, dunk and drawing the foul to put the Cougars back up by 20, 61-41, with 11:11 remaining in regulation.
The final few minutes were marred by fouls as each team continually drove into the paint to draw contact. The Crusaders cut the lead to 72-63 with 1:07 left, but free throws from freshman Anthony Stitt (Charlotte, N.C.) and Lawrence sealed the season-opening win for the Cougars.
CofC continues play with a rematch with 2011 NCAA Tournament opponent Morehead State on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 8 a.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The early morning game is a part of ESPN's 24-Hours of College Basketball marathon and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
POSTGAME NOTES
• CofC used the starting lineup of junior Andrew Lawrence, sophomore Jordan Scott, senior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Trent Wiedeman and freshman Adjehi Baru. It marked Lawrence's third career start, Wiggins' 103rd and Wiedeman's 16th. It also was the official Cougar debut for Baru as well as the first career start for Scott.
• With the victory, CofC remains an undefeated 2-0 in the all-time series with Holy Cross.
• The Cougars saw their 15th all-time sellout crowd at TD Arena with 4,963 fans in attendance.
• CofC is now 15-6 all-time in season openers including 10-1 when playing at home since its inaugural campaign as a Division I member in 1991-92. The Cougars are now 3-3 in season-opening games under Cremins and 6-0 all-time in home openers in the Cremins Era.
• Trent Wiedeman turned in his fifth career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He led the team in double-doubles (4) a year ago.
• Andrew Lawrence registered 16 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 marksmanship from beyond the arc in just 27 minutes of action. He played sparingly in the second half due to cramps.
• Jordan Scott, who only averaged 1.4 points last season in 25 games as a reserve, knocked down a career-high nine points including two of the team's seven three-pointers on the night.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"It was like a tale of two cities out there. First of all, the crowd was fantastic. What a great atmosphere we now have here at TD Arena/Coach Kresse Court. The kids responded. In the first half, we looked like a basketball team. In the second half, at times, all heck broke loose. We had 14 turnovers in the second half and I was disappointed. Andrew Lawrence had cramps (in the second half) and obviously, that was a major factor. A kid we recruited from Charlotte (Anthony Stitt) had to come in and take over the game. This is the kid who I thought would be a back-up for us for two years. He's a gutty kid and we were in trouble with Andrew out of the game. We got very careless with the basketball. I don't know if we just took things for granted. I was disappointed we didn't play like we did in the first half. We had to make some big baskets to keep the margin comfortable. We didn't execute like I wanted to in the second half. I think we got rattled. But, it gives us a great opportunity to work on it in practice."
On the upcoming Morehead State game ...
"We have our next game against Morehead State at 8 a.m. We are going to be playing an opponent that beat us last year and went to the NCAA Tournament and beat Louisville in the first round. It will be a really great test for us. We had a great opportunity to be on ESPN's 24-Hours of Basketball Marathon and I thought it would be great for our program and our city (to host such an event)."
On Holy Cross ...
"We had a lot of respect for Holy Cross. We were ready to play and were fired up to play. It was fun to watch, but we didn't finish it. I think the players feel bad we didn't finish it. We started to become unglued. Definitely, something we will work hard on. We know we have to get better. The positive thing is, we have talent out there and we have to figure out a way to get better. We need to put two halves together better. They (Holy Cross) are going to be good and a factor in the league. It was a good test for us."
College of Charleston Senior Forward Antwaine Wiggins
On the game ...
"I think we played well. It was a challenge. In the first half, we were beating them by a lot. In the second half, they started fighting back strong. It was a good test for us. I think we played well in the second half and did not let them come back and win the game."
College of Charleston Freshman Forward/Center Adjehi Baru
On his first collegiate game ...
"I felt great out there. I played well on the court. I tried to do my best and do what I learned in practice. I really learned from the two exhibition games we played. I just wanted to play, contribute in the game and help my teammates win a game."
College of Charleston Sophomore Forward Trent Wiedeman
On the team's balanced offense ...
"We are an inside-out team. Adjehi (Baru) and I got a lot of touches. We get our touches, but when we are doubled on, the guards get their touches, too, because we kick it out. We are definitely a young team, but we can't make excuses. We can't let a team come back like that (in the second half). We have to keep fighting and keep our intensity up - keeping taking it to our opponents in the second half."
