College of Charleston
Coastal Carolina
Cougars Improve To 10-2 With 77-70 Road Win at Coastal Carolina
12/23/2011 3:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CONWAY, S.C. - Redshirt junior Matt Sundberg (Kennesaw, Ga.) scored 15 of his career-high tying 17 points, including a half-court buzzer beater before the half, to lead College of Charleston to a 77-70 road win at Coastal Carolina on Thursday night at Kimbel Arena.
Sundberg was one of three players to score in double figures for the Cougars (10-2), who bounced back from a 69-62 loss at No. 4 Louisville on Tuesday night, which snapped the team's six-game win streak. They have now won six of their last seven games, while the Chanticleers (9-3) lost their second in a row.
Junior Andrew Lawrence (London, England) kept CofC ahead in the second half as Coastal Carolina cut into a 17-point lead by the Cougars at the 14:37 minute mark. He knocked down 11 of his game-high 18 points including two key three-pointers in the half to keep the Chanticleers at bay.
Lawrence made four free throws prior to tip-off, after Coastal was charged with two technical fouls for dunking during pre-game warm-ups with the officials on the floor. There were 10 lead changes in the ballgame, mostly in a see-saw first half by both teams.
Senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) added 13 points, while seven of the eight CofC players, who checked into the game, contributed to the final tally and second-straight win in the series versus Coastal. They improved to 2-1 on the road this season and are off to one of the best starts in non-conference play under head coach Bobby Cremins.
The Cougars will enjoy four days off during the Christmas holiday break, prior to hosting George Mason on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be carried nationally on ESPN3.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 12th consecutive game, CofC used the starting lineup of junior Andrew Lawrence, sophomore Jordan Scott, senior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Trent Wiedeman and freshman Adjehi Baru (10-2).
• With the win, the Cougars have now won the last two consecutive meetings with Coastal Carolina and extend their lead to 33-12 in the all-time series with the Chanticleers.
• Redshirt junior Matt Sundberg came off the bench and scored 15 of his career-high tying 17 points in the first half alone going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc including a half-court buzzer beater as time expired at halftime. He contributed to the team's 11 three-pointers in the ballgame.
• Antwaine Wiggins extended his career-best double-digit scoring streak to eight-straight games with 13 points against Coastal Carolina.
• Andrew Lawrence led the team in scoring for the second time of his career with a game-high 18 points. He also added seven assists with just two turnovers in 36 minutes of play.
• CofC shot a season-best 78.3 percent (18-of-23) from the free throw line against the Chanticleers behind a 5-for-5 performance by Wiggins and 2-for-2 performance by Jordan Scott.
• The Cougars' zone defense held Coastal Carolina, the nation's third-best field-goal shooting team (51.8), to just 46.2 percent from the floor.
• Former Georgia Tech and NBA star Travis Best spoke to the team in the locker room after the game. He played for Coach Cremins and was drafted in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"It was a great win for us tonight in a tough environment. Right off the bat, we started off with four points (due to technical fouls for pre-game dunks made by Coastal Carolina with the officials on the court). I hate to see that. I had no idea what happened. Hopefully, it's a valuable lesson, not only for them, but for us. (Matt) Sundberg's half-court shot before the half - that was a sign of something special. We really played well and went up 17, but we couldn't maintain our lead. You have to give Coastal a lot of credit for coming back. They cut it to three and we had to fight for our dear lives. Antwaine Wiggins made a big three and Andrew Lawrence made some big shots. I was surprised we had the lead like we did. I was hoping the clock would move and we could keep it in double figures. Obviously, Sundberg did a sensational job for us in the first half. He can shoot and the word is out on him now. For us to get a win here, against a quality team like Coastal Carolina, is really good for us. We are learning about this team. I liked our tempo tonight. We struggled defensively, but we got the W, and I am really proud of our team."
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Forward Matt Sundberg
On his first-half performance and Coastal's second-half run ...
"I was definitely feeling it. I had a lot of confidence (to shoot) from my teammates and coaches. I felt really good out there and I just wanted to keep shooting it every time I had the ball. They are a very good team. We knew they were going to come out in the second half with a lot of confidence. We expected their run in the second half. We knew they would come out strong and hard. We had to keep working harder and harder at every turning point of the game, because they kept playing us aggressive."
