College of Charleston
Furman
Cougar Defense Stifles Furman In 66-43 Road Win
1/7/2012 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Three players scored in double figures led by a pair of 14-point performances from freshmen Anthony Stitt (Charlotte, N.C.) and Adjehi Baru (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) as College of Charleston rolled to a 66-43 road victory at Furman on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The Cougars (11-4, 3-1), who had lost three of their last four games, played with confidence after a disappointing string of losses to George Mason and Wofford. They stepped up defensively against the Paladins (7-8, 1-3) holding them to an opponent season-low 29.6 percent shooting from the floor and 18.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Stitt, making his first career start, and Baru, who has made improvements to his inside game, sparked the CofC offense with a combined 13 of the team's 30 points in the first half.
Furman struggled against the Cougars' press and man-to-man defense as their big men were held to single digits in the ballgame. In the opening minutes of the second half, the Paladins cut it down to three as Charlie Reddick knocked down a three-pointer and Richard Brown hit a layup, 30-27.
As Furman kept the game within reach, a three-pointer by sophomore reserve forward Nori Johnson (Greer, S.C.) at the 9:36 minute mark extended the Cougars' lead back out into double digits for good, 45-34.
Baru tied his career-high in points, while senior Antwaine Wiggins (Greeneville, Tenn.) was the other CofC player in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore Trent Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.), redshirt junior Matt Sundberg (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Baru combined inside for 19 of the team's 30 boards in the contest.
The Cougars will return home and host a two-game Southern Conference homestand beginning with UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game 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 five of junior Andrew Lawrence, freshman Anthony Stitt, senior Antwaine Wiggins, sophomore Trent Wiedeman and freshman Adjehi Baru (1-0).
• With the victory, the Cougars inched closer of tying the all-time series record with Furman, but still trail 40-38. They claimed their ninth consecutive win against the Paladins who have not beaten CofC since 2008.
• It marked the team's first win in the New Year and first since a 77-70 road win at Coastal Carolina on Dec. 22, 2011.
• Anthony Stitt made his first career start and turned in his sixth game in double figures this season with a team-high tying 14 points. He played 37 minutes at Furman, the second-most of his young career.
• Adjehi Baru tied a career-high in scoring with 14 points along with a team-leading seven rebounds.
• Sophomore reserve guard/forward Nori Johnson had another break-out game with seven points and reset career-highs in assists (2), steals (2) and minutes played (19).
• The CofC defense held the Paladins to a season-low 43 points and an opponent season-low 29.6 percent shooting from the floor (16-of-54).
• Furman also committed an opponent season-high 23 turnovers in which the Cougars turned into 27 points offensively.
• The Cougars were outrebounded, 44-30 (-14) by Furman, their second-highest rebounding margin deficit against an opponent this year next to a 19-rebound differential to Central Florida at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 24.
• For the fifth time this year, CofC shot better than 50 percent from the field with a 51.1 (24-of-47) accuracy against the Paladins, its best shooting performance against a SoCon foe.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Bobby Cremins
On the game ...
"I wouldn't call it a pretty victory, but a very important victory, especially, after the Wofford loss and playing on the road. Nori Johnson hit a big three which was a big play for us. I'm really happy about the win. It's a conference win. We had a lot of respect for Furman coming into this game. We got off to a good start. It was unusual. Our defense was so much better. They did not shoot well in the first half. We had some opportunities in the first half to really take advantage of the lead. In the second half, like it always happens, we had to fight for our life. Matt Sundberg played a great game. Andrew Lawrence is so important for us and got into foul trouble and we couldn't keep him in the game. I can't say enough about this team for getting this win. Nori Johnson, for not playing at all this year, did some good things today for us. We are still a work in progress and the bus trip will be a lot nicer now to Charleston."
College of Charleston Freshman Guard Anthony Stitt
On the game and his first career start ...
"The start didn't really matter. It was a collaboration and all of us helping the team win. I just tried to play my hardest for the team. Andrew Lawrence got into foul trouble and I knew I had to step up. It's good to get a road win. We actually played with toughness rebounding and defended when we needed to. We are not the type of team that it matters who scores the most. We have our confidence back. We will take this win and try to build off of it as we continue conference play."
