College of Charleston
Charleston Southern
Cougars Make It Six In A Row With 70-68 Decision Over CSU
12/18/2011 2:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senior forward Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) corralled a loose ball and slammed home a game-winning dunk with 11 seconds left to send the College of Charleston men's basketball team to a 70-68 win over intercity rival Charleston Southern on Saturday night at TD Arena.
The win marked the sixth-straight for the Cougars (9-1) and 15th-straight victory at home. The Cougars' nine wins in the first 10 games ties for the fourth-best start in program history. Charleston Southern fell to 6-4 on the season.
Wiggins led the Cougars in points yet again, netting 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also brought down 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Freshman reserve Anthony Stitt (Charlotte, N.C.) reached double figures for the fourth time in the last five games, scoring 16 points. Junior Andrew Lawrence (London, England) continued his strong play with 14 points, five assists and a career-high four blocks.
Despite playing in foul trouble, sophomore Trent Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.) pulled down 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes of play, while Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) scored eight points and made eight rebounds.
As a team, the Cougars shot 48.0 percent from the field (24-of-50) and 45.0 percent from three-point range (9-of-20). The Cougars outrebounded Charleston Southern, 48-36.
CSU had four players in double figures, led by Arlon Harper and his 18 points. Kelvin Martin registered 16 points and seven rebounds, while Mathiang Muo hit five three-pointers for 15 points before fouling out. Saah Nimley scored 10 points and led the team with six assists.
The Buccaneers were able to stay close throughout the entire game by forcing 19 CofC turnovers and converting those into 28 points. Neither team was efficient from the foul line as the Cougars shot 13-of-26 from the charity stripe and CSU managed just 2-of-8.
CofC built seven-point leads twice in the first half, but the Buccaneers were able to respond with a pair of three-pointers that made the margin 26-25 at the 5:47 minute mark. Neither team built a two-possession lead for the rest of the half until Lawrence drove to the basket and drew the foul with four seconds left to put CofC up 35-31 at the half.
The Cougars threatened to pull away just three minutes into the second half as Lawrence found Wiedeman for a fast-break layup followed by a three-pointer from Wiggins that put CofC up 45-35 with 16:29 remaining in regulation.
The Buccaneers traded baskets with CofC as both teams ran in the transition until a three-pointer from Lawrence put the Cougars up 57-45 at 11:45. However, CSU went on a 15-6 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Muo that made the lead just a mere three points at 63-60 with 6:54 left on the clock.
CofC struggled in the final minutes as the Cougars missed free throws and allowed Charleston Southern to hang around. Martin scored buckets in the final two minutes, one of which tied the game at 68 with just 44 seconds remaining.
In the Cougars' final possession, Wiedeman kept alive a missed shot attempt and Wiggins was able to come up with the loose ball on the back side for the game-winner and 70-68 lead. CofC defended Charleston Southern well on the ensuing possession and the Buccaneers only managed a desperation shot at the buzzer that was off target.
CofC will leave behind the friendly confines of TD Arena for a tough road test at No. 4 Louisville (9-0) on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU at 9 p.m. (ET).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 10th-straight game, CofC went with the starting lineup of junior Andrew Lawrence, sophomore Jordan Scott, senior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Trent Wiedeman and freshman Adjehi Baru (9-1).
• With the win, the Cougars take a 51-23 advantage in the all-time intercity rivalry series with Charleston Southern and have now won five in a row against the Buccaneers. Six of the last seven meetings between the two schools have been decided by 10 points or less.
• CofC is off to a 9-1 start to the season which is the second-best start in the Bobby Cremins Era and tied as the fourth-best start in the program's NCAA Division history since 1992. It ties the 2000-01 squad which went 9-1 in the first 10 games of the season under legendary head coach John Kresse.
• The Cougars also extended their home-court win streak to 15 consecutive games at TD Arena.
• Antwaine Wiggins turned in his fourth career double-double with a game-high tying 18 points and 11 rebounds. He is now seven points away from registering his 1,000th career point with 993 points to date.
• Andrew Lawrence kept his double-digit scoring streak alive with 14 points and a career-high four blocked shots. He has now scored in double figures four-straight games.
• The Cougars committed a season-high 19 turnovers, while the Buccaneers made an opponent season-low five miscues in the ballgame.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"I give Charleston Southern so much credit. They played an outstanding game. They took us out of our offense and made us careless. I thought we had things under control. We were very careless with the basketball. The thing I'm most concerned about was turnovers and missed free throws. We had great respect for Charleston Southern coming in here. We were flat and we were a nervous wreck trying to get the kids going. After watching the scouting report on Charleston Southern, seeing their record and seeing what they did at The Citadel. They are tough to defend. They had us confused. We tried to switch on some things - the mismatches. When they had the ball, we were in trouble. Their pressure bothered us. I think (Charleston Southern Head Coach) Barclay (Radebaugh) did a fantastic job. They could have easily won the game. We feel very fortunate to have won the game. Again, it was a great hustle play by Adjehi (Baru) and (Trent) Wiedeman. They stayed with the loose ball. We won on a loose ball rebound. Antwaine (Wiggins) was at the right place at the right time and finished it. When I see 19 turnovers, that's bad, especially when you are getting ready to play Louisville. I give Charleston Southern and Barclay tremendous credit for coming in and playing the type of game they played tonight."
College of Charleston Senior Forward Antwaine Wiggins
On the game-winning play ...
"Andrew (Lawrence) made a great drive. He passed it out to me and I missed it unfortunately. Trent (Wiedeman) and Adjehi (Baru) were down there luckily and battling for the ball. Trent ended up with it, passed it to me and I just finished it with a dunk."
College of Charleston Junior Point Guard Andrew Lawrence
On the upcoming game at Louisville ...
"We are really excited about going up there. Today was a game to get us sort of prepared for that game. They (Charleston Southern) threw a lot of junk at us on the defensive end. They are a really scrappy team and played really hard tonight. We will be ready for Louisville."
Charleston Southern Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh
On the game ...
"Congratulations to College of Charleston. It's a classy program with a classy head coach and a great staff. It's always a privilege to compete against them. They have a very good team. We were very impressed by them. We were impressed with them on film and they didn't disappoint tonight. They are a terrific basketball team with a lot of weapons. I congratulate them on the win. That being said, we have a gutsy group of guys. This group of kids is as gutsy of a group that we've had. They love to compete and know how to battle. I'm looking forward to competing with this group for the rest of the year. They know how to fight, know how to compete and know how to win."
Charleston Southern Freshman Point Guard Saah Nimley
On the loss ...
"It was a real disappointing loss. I thought we played not as good as we could have played. When we got down late, we really made a lot of pushes to tie the game back up. I thought we showed a lot of guts. In those stretches, we played really well. We just couldn't come out with the win with some calls there and loose balls there. It happens sometimes."
