College of Charleston
Clemson
Cougars Hold On For First-Ever Road Win at Clemson, 72-69
11/20/2011 3:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CLICK HERE FOR POST GAME INTERVIEWS
CLEMSON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's basketball team held on in the final seconds of regulation to claim its first-ever road win at Clemson, 72-69, on Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Cougars are now off to a 3-0 start for the first time in eight seasons and first under head coach Bobby Cremins, who picked up his first road win at an ACC school since his days at Georgia Tech.
After a perfect first half where CofC shot 51.5 percent from the floor (17-of-33) and found and made the open shot, Clemson (2-1) couldn't seem to find an answer to break into the Cougars' double-digit lead. The CofC defense forced the Tigers into nine first-half turnovers and 36.7 percent shooting from the field (11-of-30).
Senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as Clemson chipped away at its deficit and got it down to two with 1:18 remaining on a tip-in by Devin Booker.
Freshman Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) made a big block on a missed layup by Andre Young and freshman reserve Anthony Stitt (Charlotte, N.C.), whose older cousin Demontez Stitt finished out his career with the Tigers a year ago, pushed up the ball and was fouled on the layup in the lane with 14 seconds left in play.
Stitt made one-of-two from the charity stripe giving Clemson one more chance at the tie, 72-69. Young attempted the three-pointer, but missed after being heavily-guarded by junior point guard Andrew Lawrence (London, England), who was one of three Cougars including sophomore Trent Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.) in double figures with 15 apiece.
CofC led by double figures for most of the first half and a gutsy layup in traffic by Stitt gave CofC a 39-24 advantage at halftime. Stitt ended the night with eight points and two assists with no turnovers in 27 minutes of action versus the Tigers.
The Cougars will participate in the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament to be held on Nov. 24-26 at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas. CofC will face Central Florida in its first game on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live nationally on VERSUS network.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the third-straight game, CofC used the starting lineup of junior Andrew Lawrence, sophomore Jordan Scott, senior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Trent Wiedeman and freshman Adjehi Baru (3-0).
• With the win, the Cougars claim only their second-ever victory in the 11-game all-time series with Clemson (2-9). It was their first-ever road win in the series in seven tries and first win against the Tigers since a 30-10 victory on Jan. 20, 1925 at the Sumter Guard Armory in Charleston.
• It marked the second consecutive year for CofC to knock off a major conference opponent on the road next to a 91-78 victory at Tennessee on Dec. 31, 2010 in Knoxville, Tenn.
• CofC is off to a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign and first under head coach Bobby Cremins.
• Senior Antwaine Wiggins extended his double-figure scoring streak to three games with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field with four of the team's five three-pointers in the contest.
• The Cougars have now shot 50 percent or better from the floor in its last two contests going 51.7 percent (30-of-58) against Clemson and 51.9 percent versus Morehead State on Nov. 15.
• Former CofC Basketball alumni Jordan Turok was in attendance at the game as well as Coach Cremins' former Georgia Tech point guard and NBA All-Star Mark Price.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"Wow, what a game. We hung on for dear life. The first half was as good of basketball of any team I've ever coached. We played a perfect first half. I couldn't be prouder. I was ready to get on the bus at halftime. We were trying to keep that gap (in the second half). We did for awhile, but the later it got, we got sloppier. Clemson showed tremendous heart. We couldn't stop them. They kept on getting putbacks. They had a chance to tie or win the game. We had some tough turnovers down the stretch. We are still a young team."
On how huge the Clemson win was for the program ...
"Basically, it's a great win for us. I'm really proud of our guys. I thought Andre Young got a great look (at the end) to tie the game. We were disappointed they got a good look. We got a little confused and he missed a good shot. I can't say enough about Anthony Stitt. This was a young man I didn't think would play until two years from now. He is so gutty and plays with a lot of heart. For a little guy, Anthony made some great baskets for us. I wish we could have repeated that intensity in the second half, but we are just young. We are still finding ourselves. We made some big baskets and hung on for dear life."
On the team's difficult scheduling ...
"We just play a difficult schedule. Anytime you can walk into ACC territory and get a win, it's a great feeling."
College of Charleston Junior Point Guard Andrew Lawrence
On winning a game on the road against a BCS team ...
"It was a great experience. We battled really hard. Clemson gave us a great game. In the second half, they were unbelievable. It was a gutsy performance and glad we got through it for the win. We played an unbelievable first half. We knew they would come out with a lot of pressure in the second. Overall, we are ecstatic over the win."
College of Charleston Senior Forward Antwaine Wiggins
On the game ...
"It was a great game. We knew they would come back hard in the second half, so we just had to keep our head and keep our composure and stay together as a team. That's what we did and came out with the victory."
