College of Charleston
7-20, 2-12CAA
Towson
12-15, 5-9CAA
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Towson | 27 | 26 | 53 |
| Col. of Charleston | 22 | 28 | 50 |
Towson Escapes Charleston With 53-50 Decision
2/15/2015 9:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophomore Joe Chealey (Orlando, Fla.) tossed up a last-second, game-tying three-point attempt with seven seconds left in regulation, but it bounced off the rim as Towson escaped College of Charleston with a 53-50 road decision on Sunday afternoon at TD Arena.
The Tigers (12-15, 5-9 CAA) ended a three-game skid in Colonial Athletic Association play, while the Cougars (7-20, 2-12) lost their third straight. It was CofC's ninth league game this season to be decided in single digits.
Chealey led all scorers with a game-high 13 points. The Cougars and Tigers exchanged leads six times in the second half in which the home team led by as many as three on a layup by sophomore Canyon Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 36-33, with 11:48 remaining on the clock. Barry ended the contest with an 11-point effort.
Timajh Parker-Rivera was the lone Towson player in double figures scoring 12 points in the winning cause. His three-point play tied the ballgame up at 36-all and was the beginning of a 7-2 run for the Tigers, who led 27-22 at halftime.
Free throws ultimately was the difference as Towson went 14-of-20 from the free throw line (70 percent) and 6-for-6 in the final seconds. Meanwhile, the Cougars went a season-low 9-of-21 (42.9 percent). The Tigers, ranked No. 13 in rebounds per game, also cleaned up on the glass, outboarding CofC an opponent season-high 51-to-35.
CofC will host former Southern Conference rival Elon (11-16, 3-11) on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will not be televised, but tickets are still available for purchase by calling (843) 953-COFC.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 10th time this season, the Cougars went with the starting lineup of Joe Chealey, Cameron Johnson, Canyon Barry, Donovan Gilmore and Adjehi Baru (2-8).
• Towson improved to 5-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Tigers now own a four-game win streak in the series including the last three which have been decided by single digits: +3, +4 and +7 (OT).
• Joe Chealey extended his career-best, double-digit scoring streak to six consecutive games with a game-high 13 points. He also led the team in assists (4) and grabbed the second-most rebounds (4) versus the Tigers.
• Canyon Barry turned in his 18th double-figure scoring game of the season with 11 points against Towson.
• For the first time of his career, Evan Bailey led the team in rebounding with a career-high tying six boards versus Towson. He also added six points in 17 minutes of action off the bench.
• Glen Pierre, Jr., made a career-best three blocked shots against the Tigers.
• The Cougars shot a season-low 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from the free throw line against Towson.
• Towson brought down an opponent season-high 51 rebounds. The Tigers entered the game ranked No. 13 in the nation in the category averaging 39.6 boards per game.
• For the third consecutive game, CofC brought down 10-or-more offensive rebounds with 13. The Cougars previously grabbed a season-high 16 versus Drexel on Feb. 7 and 13 at UNCW on Feb. 11.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the loss …
“I take full responsibility for the way we performed. We have to do better. Me and my staff have to do better. I thought we had opportunities to win this game. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and find a way to help these guys. I thought we had good toughness today. We missed a lot, so they (Towson) got a lot of offensive rebounds. Sometimes, they got three in one possession and we addressed that in the locker room. I have to get our players to understand that in a basketball game, when the margin for error is so small, you can't afford to keep giving up rebounds. So, that responsibility falls on me.”
On what do you tell the players in the locker room after games where they experience droughts …
“You tell them the truth. That's the No. 1 rule of our program – always speak the truth. Anybody who watched the game could see what was taking place. So as a team, we discussed some of those things and why we lost and it was a one-possession game. Again, me and my staff have to do a better job and help them improve, because we are not where we need to be right now. We have to really fight hard to get us moving in the right direction.”
On keeping the team afloat as the close losses continue to mount …
“I've been through this before and with winning programs. It's very humbling. But, I also understand that everything we do, we are doing it the right way. I understand that I have players that are trying. I have to evaluate why we are not winning and find a way to help the program win. I know it's not a lack of effort. Me and my players, we look at each other in the eye every day and we're just coming up short. To me, I will just keep focusing on skill development. I've found myself in practice working a lot on skill development, because I wasn't with the guys in the spring, the summer or the fall. In the spring, summer and fall is when you plant your seeds and then in the winter you get your harvest. I wasn't able to do that, so I find myself doing that now. We just have work to do. All of these close games, there's probably 11-or-12 of them. There are teams around the country that are going to make the NCAA Tournament, who have won 10 games by 2-or-3 points. We've lost 10 by 2-or-3, so its not that much different. I told my guys there's really not much difference between a winning team and one that's losing. It's small. I take full responsibility for whatever reason we are not able to get over the hump.”
College of Charleston Sophomore Guard Joe Chealey
On toughness and grit and not being able to get that last-second basket …
“We had 30 seconds left, they (Towson) got 2-or-3 offensive rebounds and they got the stick back to go up by one (point). Of course, everybody looks at the (last) shot. We wish we could've made it, but if we get that defensive rebound on that play then I think we get to the free throw line and win the game. I was trying to make the right play with whatever presented itself. If my teammate was open, then I'll get it to him. The defense left a gap for me to get to the lane, so that was what I was going to do. We just couldn't make all the plays and that's what it came down to today.”
College of Charleston Sophomore Guard Canyon Barry
On Towson being big and physical …
“They (Towson) are a good defensive team. Like Joe (Chealey) said, at the end of the day, I think it came down to us giving up too many offensive rebounds and us not being able to convert at the free throw line. That is something we have to work on as a team. We had a bunch of takes at the basket, lay-ups that, frankly, we have to make. In order for us to move forward, I have to make them, Joe has to make them and (Anthony) Stitt has to make them. We have to convert when we are that close to the rim, and then obviously, at the free throw line. We were 9-for121 and that is not good enough – not good enough to get a win.”
On all of the close losses this season …
“All you can do after losses like we've had this season is to keep working and keep getting better. At the end of the regular season, there is a whole new one coming up with the conference tournament. It's four games, and hopefully, you can win all four and make it to the NCAAs. You can't dwell on your losses at this point. All you can do is move on to the next game and prepare.”
