College of Charleston
2-1
Texas A&M
1-3
Aggies Make Second-Half Comeback To Get Past Cougars
11/21/2014 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
It was a low-scoring affair as both the Aggies (2-1) and Cougars (1-3) combined for a total of 30 turnovers (13-to-17) and were coming off close first-round losses to the defending national champions and 2014 NCAA Elite Eight participant Dayton, respectively.
Charleston took advantage of Texas A&M's miscues and led by as many as eight points as Cameron Johnson knocked down a three-pointer from the corner with 3:03 remaining in the first half. The Cougars took a 26-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
A&M found new life in the second half of play as Peyton Allen and Jordan Green, who did not have great stat lines against Dayton, combined for 25 of the team's points. Allen's three-pointer with 5:21 left in regulation broke open a 39-39 tie as the Aggies sprinted out to a 20-11 closing run.
Inside play by Glen Pierre, Jr., who drew fouls and caused A&M turnovers in the absence of Baru, kept the Cougars within striking distance during the final stretch. He ended the contest with a career-high eight points, two rebounds and one blocked shot.
CofC will next face either George Mason or New Mexico in the seventh-place game on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the first time this season, the Cougars went with the starting five of Joe Chealey, Anthony Stitt, Canyon Barry, Terrance O'Donohue and David Wishon (0-1). It marked Wishon's first career start in 34 games played for the Cougars.
• Texas A&M takes a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Cougars are now 5-39 all-time against SEC opponents.
• Anthony Stitt extended his double-digit scoring streak to four-straight games with a team-high tying 10 points against Texas A&M.
• Joe Chealey notched his third-consecutive game in double figures with a team-high tying 10 points.
• Glen Pierre, Jr., recorded career highs in points (8), field goals made (2), field goals attempted (4), free throws made (4), free throws attempted (7), rebounds (2), blocked shots (1) and minutes played (23), before fouling out of the game in the second half of play.
• Adjehi Baru missed his first game after 80 consecutive games played dating back to his freshman year in 2011-12. He has only missed three games total in his CofC career due to injury.
• CofC committed a season-high 17 turnovers which the Aggies converted into 16 points.
• The Cougars also shot a season-low 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the floor against Texas A&M. They held the Aggies to their lowest three-point field-goal percentage of the season (18.8%).
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
“Our guys played hard and we really competed today. We didn't know Adjehi Baru was going to be out until two hours before the game started and that really threw a last-minute monkey wrench into our game plan. On a positive side, I thought the young guys who did play in his place gave us a great lift. Glen Pierre, Jr., played 23 minutes (against Texas A&M), but didn't play a combined 23 minutes the whole season last year. Glen gave us a great lift and David Wishon protected the rim pretty well. Our freshmen both came in and did a good job, too. I was pleased with our effort.”
On the second-half turnovers …
“There were a few key turnovers down-the-stretch that really hurt us. I thought there were a few decisions I made in the last seven minutes that kind of cost us. We have to learn from it and try to continue to get better.”
On Adjehi Baru's status …
“(Adjehi) Baru says he is fine and our trainer (Chris Horschel) says he is fine. But, he has a lot of soreness in his knee and couldn't go 100 percent today. He hasn't had an MRI, so we really won't know the extent of his injury until we get to review it further. Obviously, when you have Baru – he's been playing well and scoring the ball for us around the basket. Our younger guys and posts are still developing, but haven't proved to be able to score with their backs to the basket like he can. You have to find a different way to score, because you can't throw it into the post.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Kennedy
On the game …
“I think it was hard to score and I think both of us had tough, hard-fought games yesterday that took a little bit out of us. But, fortunately in the second half, our depth was a big key that helped us work through the fatigue and get the win. Jordan Green and Peyton Allen were just huge for us today, especially after yesterday when we didn't get much out of either of them. It's good to see the resiliency in both of them and our entire team. We have good character and a good group of kids. It paid off today. I would say something similar for Charleston. Earl Grant is doing a tremendous job with their team.”
