POSTGAME VIDEO COMMENTS

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Three players scored in double figures as College of Charleston rolled to a 73-54 victory over Furman before a sellout crowd of 5,081 fans on Saturday night at Carolina First Arena.

Senior All-America candidate Andrew Goudelock (Stone Mountain, Ga.) led the way with a game-high 29 points followed by 17 from senior point guard Donavan Monroe (Waxhaw, N.C.) and 11 from freshman Trent Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.), who made his third career start versus the Paladins (17-7, 9-4).

The Cougars (17-7, 10-1) showed no signs of weakness or playing with heavy hearts as senior Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) missed his first game in 14-straight starts at center, undergoing treatment for a blood clot in his right arm diagnosed by the CofC Sports Medicine staff after the Wofford game on Feb. 3.

It was unrelated to bruised ribs he had suffered after the team's 75-64 loss at Davidson on Jan. 29 which held him out of practice for a couple of days leading to the team's Southern Conference showdown with the defending champion Terriers.

CofC built a 14-3 lead off the opening tip and never let Furman get into any type of rhythm. The closest the Paladins got was within six on a dunk by Amu Saaka, a high school rival of Goudelock's back home in the Atlanta area, with 6:11 to go in the first half, 26-20.

With the inspired win, the Cougars reclaimed dibs on first place in the South Division standings and are tied overall with Chattanooga (14-10, 10-2) in the league regular-season race. They have won five of their last six games and shot 56.9 percent from the field (29-of-51) to hand Furman, one of the league's most improved teams, only its second loss in eight games.

CofC will travel next to Elon for a Wednesday, Feb. 9, road tilt at Alumni Gym in Elon, N.C. Tipoff between the Cougars and Phoenix is set for 7 p.m. (ET). The game will not be televised, but can be heard live on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com.

POSTGAME NOTES
• For the first time this season, CofC used the starting lineup of senior Donavan Monroe, senior Andrew Goudelock, junior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Willis Hall and freshman Trent Wiedeman (1-0). Wiedeman made his third career start in place of senior Jeremy Simmons, who missed his first game in 14 consecutive starts at center, after a blot clot was found in his right arm after the Wofford game on Feb. 3. Simmons is out indefinitely while undergoing treatment and procedures for the blood clot.
• CofC saw its fourth sell-out crowd of the season with 5,081 fans in attendance which marked its 12th all-time sellout in Carolina First Arena history since the venue's opening in 2008.
• With the win, the Cougars swept the regular-season series over Furman for the fourth time in the last five years under head coach Bobby Cremins. They have now won the last seven consecutive meetings between the two schools since a 77-59 victory (+18) on March 1, 2008 in Charleston. CofC's 19-point margin of victory was the largest in the last 10 games when facing the Paladins.
• The Cougars made only four first-half turnovers which was its second lowest of the season behind three first-half turnovers versus Georgia Southern on Dec. 4. They ended the game with 10 which marked the third time in the last five outings to have fewer than 10 miscues.
• CofC is now 10-2 in Southern Conference play which marked its third-straight 10-win campaign in the Bobby Cremins Era. The Cougars finished 15-5 in 2008-09 and 14-4 in 2009-10.
• For the 10th time this season, the Cougars shot better than 50 percent from the floor going 29-of-51 (56.9 percent) versus the Paladins. However, they tied a season low with only four three-pointers in the ballgame next to four at Davidson on Jan. 29.
• Andrew Goudelock registered his 41st career 20-point game with a game-high 29 points versus Furman. He has gone for 20 in seven of the last eight contests and back on a 10-game double-digit scoring streak. Goudelock has recorded 2,264 career points to date which ranks second-best in the nation among active NCAA Division I career scoring leaders.
• Donavan Monroe moved into 21st on the all-time career scoring list (13th all-time in CofC Division I history) with 17 points against the Paladins to record 1,191 career points to date. He surpassed former CofC star Jermel President who registered 1,174 career points from 1996-99 under former head coach John Kresse. It was Monroe's 15th double-figure game this season.
• Trent Wiedeman contributed 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds in 32 minutes of play. He also added two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.
• The Cougars held a moment of silence prior to the national anthem for junior men's basketball manager and film coordinator Ben Walsh, a Charleston native whose mother, Sharon, passed away on Friday night. The Walsh Family have been avid fans of the CofC program since the 1990s. Ben's father, Michael, is an adjunct professor who taught 300-level health and physical education courses at CofC. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Walsh Family,” said CofC Head Coach Bobby Cremins.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game …
“That was inspiring. We dedicated that game to Jeremy Simmons. I asked the kids to play for Jeremy today and they did. Jeremy's roommates are Drew Goudelock, Donavan Monroe and Antwaine Wiggins. Those four kids were our first official recruiting class four years ago. Now, we know who we are (after this game). I was very proud of our team today. Furman is doing well. They are a surprise team in the league. If they knock us out, they are right in there for first place (in the South Division), so this was a big game.”

On an update on Jeremy Simmons …
“It's not uncommon. Athletes who raise their arms a lot, sometimes they tend to develop blood clots. He went through the first procedure today. They will look at it again and probably do a second procedure in 10 days to two weeks. After the second procedure, then they will make a decision. They might say, 'he can come back in two weeks or a month, or he is out.' We were able to catch it early. The good thing about it is, once he recovers, it's not a life-threatening thing. He will go on as a perfectly normal human being. We live in a city that has incredible medical provisions. He will remain in the hospital at least one more day.”

College of Charleston Senior Guard Andrew Goudelock
On the game …
“First off, I want to say this was a great win for us and we are thinking about Jeremy (Simmons). We have him in our prayers, as well as, Ben Walsh, our team manager. It was a great win for us and it was dedicated to them. We played good defense continuing from the Wofford game. We had confidence. I think we are in a good rhythm right now.”

College of Charleston Senior Point Guard Donavan Monroe
On his leadership and contributions in the game …
“I felt like I needed to step-up and make plays to lead the team. I came out aggressively and my shot was falling. I was getting some good looks and I was trying to create for myself and my teammates.”

Furman Head Coach Jeff Jackson
On the game …
“Andrew Goudelock is pretty good. I thought Charleston played much like they did in the second half of their game versus Wofford (on Feb. 3). Bobby (Cremins) has them playing very good right now. Getting off to a fast start fed the fire for them and we were chasing. Any time you are chasing, you don't get to play comfortably. To their credit, they never really let us get back into the game.”