College of Charleston
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern Downs Cougars On The Road, 64-58
1/22/2012 3:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Eric Ferguson scored a game-high 19 points to lead Georgia Southern to its first win over the College of Charleston in four years, 64-58, in Southern Conference play held Saturday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (7-11, 5-3) ended an eight-game stronghold in the all-time series with the Cougars (12-7, 4-4) who dropped their second road contest in three days.
Senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the first half in which both teams struggled from the floor shooting less than 37 percent and the score teetered back-and-forth on six occasions. He ended the night with a double-double with 12 of the team's 30 rebounds in the game.
Freshman reserve Trevonté Dixon (Florence, S.C.) tied the ballgame at 29-29 as time expired going into halftime with the slam dunk off the dish by redshirt junior Matt Sundberg (Kennesaw, Ga.), who made his first career start against the Eagles after freshman Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) sat out the game with a sprained ankle.
CofC had its chances in the second half to pull away as the Cougars led by as many as six points on a jumper by Dixon, 43-37, at the 13:53 minute mark. A technical foul was issued thereafter to Georgia Southern after Tyrone Brown scored on a layup and was not entered into the official scorebook before the game.
The Eagles led by nine with 7:30 remaining in regulation, but the Cougars were able to cut it down to two on a fastbreak layup by junior Andrew Lawrence (London, England), 59-57, with 2:23 to go.
Ferguson connected on a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to seal the victory for the Eagles who held CofC to a season-low 35.7 percent from the field (20-of-56).
The Cougars will return home to face South Division rival Furman (9-10, 3-5) on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The contest will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston and carried nationally on ESPN3.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the first time this season, CofC used the starting lineup of junior Andrew Lawrence, sophomore Nori Johnson, senior Antwaine Wiggins, redshirt junior Matt Sundberg and sophomore Trent Wiedeman (0-1).
• With the loss, Georgia Southern snapped an eight-game losing streak in the all-time series with CofC. It was the Eagles' first win against the Cougars since the 2007-08 campaign.
• Matt Sundberg made his first career start in his 69th career game as a Cougar at Georgia Southern. He registered five points, five rebounds and three steals in a career-high 31 minutes of action.
• Freshman Adjehi Baru did not suit up and was out for the game with a sprained ankle.
• Antwaine Wiggins scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the contest in the first half alone. He turned in his fifth career double-double and third of the season with a season-high tying 12 rebounds.
• Andrew Lawrence recorded his second-straight game in double figures with 12 points and five assists. He is now four assists away from his first career 100+ assist season (96).
• CofC shot a season-low 35.7 percent from the field (20-of-56) against the Eagles.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"It was a great college basketball game. We played really hard. We had a chance. It was nice to see us be in a game and have a chance. They (Georgia Southern) played a great game. Both teams played very well. It was a hard-fought, tough game in a tough environment. (Eric) Ferguson made a great shot when they were down by just two. We had our chances. I cannot say enough and fault our team at all. They really gave it everything they had tonight."
College of Charleston Senior Forward Antwaine Wiggins
On the loss ...
"It was a tough game. Georgia Southern had a great crowd and played with a lot of intensity and excitement. They just came out ready to play. They outplayed us and that's what gave them the edge tonight. I knew I had to step up in rebounding with Adjehi (Baru) out tonight. We won't give up and let this get us down. We are a young team, but we will get there."
