College of Charleston
13-7, 5-4
Northeastern
12-10, 4-5
The Comeback Kids: Cougars Win Three In A Row
1/29/2016 5:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston defeated Northeastern in a 68-61 overtime thriller to win its third in a row in Colonial Athletic Association action held on Thursday night at TD Arena.
The Cougars (13-7, 5-4 CAA) ended a three-game skid in the all-time series and claimed their first-ever victory over the Huskies (12-10, 4-5 CAA) on their own home court since joining the CAA in July of 2013.
Northeastern led 34-22 at halftime and extended its lead out to as many as 20 points on a three-pointer by Jeremy Miller, 50-30, at the 14:17 minute mark.
CofC chipped away at the double-digit lead courtesy of a 10-minute scoring barrage sparked by two made free throws by sophomore Cameron Johnson (Athens, Ga.) with 13 minutes left in regulation. He ended the night with a game-and career-high 21 points.
During that time span, the Cougars went on a 21-3 run behind long-range threes from Johnson, freshman Jarrell Brantley (Columbia, S.C.) and sophomore Evan Bailey (Canton, Ohio). Redshirt freshman Nick Harris (Dacula, Ga.) also contributed a dunk and tip-in to close the gap. Harris recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a game-high tying 12 rebounds.
Freshman Marquise Pointer (Jonesboro, Ark.) made a layup with 4:07 left on the clock to get the Cougars within two, 53-51. Brantley would later be fouled going up for a defensive rebound and tied the ballgame up at 53-all from the charity stripe with 3:24 remaining.
Both teams exchanged baskets in the final minute and a half as the CAA's leading scorer, David Walker of Northeastern, made one last attempt at a three-pointer, but missed to send the game into overtime, 58-58. Walker was held to 13 points after coming into the game averaging 18.4 points per game.
CofC continued to pressure the Huskies in the extra period which resulted in three steals and holding them to just a three-pointer. Brantley and Pointer were the Cougars' other double-figure scorers with 11 and 12 points respectively, while Miller led Northeastern with 17 points.
The Cougars will start the second half of CAA play at UNCW (15-5, 7-2 CAA) on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Wilmington, N.C.
For more information on College of Charleston Basketball, follow the Cougars on Twitter at @CofCBasketball.
POSTGAME NOTES
· For the seventh-consecutive game, College of Charleston started freshman Marquise Pointer, sophomore Cameron Johnson, junior Payton Hulsey, freshman Jarrell Brantley and redshirt freshman Nick Harris for the sixth-consecutive ballgame (4-3).
· With the win, the Cougars avenged two previous home losses to Northeastern in the five-game all-time series. The Huskies, who still hold a one-game lead in the series, 3-2, had previously come away with victories on both of their trips to the Lowcountry in 2014 and 2015.
· Cameron Johnson extended his double-digit scoring streak to a career-best five consecutive games with a game-and career-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and two key three-pointers. He also made a career-high tying four steals versus Northeastern.
· Nick Harris recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Northeastern. He becomes only the second CofC player this season to turn in a double-double performance next to Jarrell Brantley. Harris led the team in rebounding for the third time of his career grabbing a career-best eight offensive boards.
· Marquise Pointer has now reached double figures in eight of the last 12 games for the Cougars with 12 points in a career-high 42 minutes of action versus Northeastern.
· Jarrell Brantley registered a near double-double performance with 11 points and nine rebounds against Northeastern. He went 6-for-8 from the free throw line contributing to a 72.2 percentage (13-for-18) for the game.
· CofC made 10 steals in the contest, which tied as the second most in a single game this season next to 10 against LSU on Nov. 30 and versus Western Carolina on Nov. 27.
· Defensively, the Cougars held their eighth league opponent to 65 points-or-less as Northeastern turned in its third-lowest output of the season (61 points). The Huskies entered the ballgame averaging 74.6 points per game.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On being down by 20 points in the second half and his thoughts …
“We needed to show some character. We needed to show some grit and we needed to fight for the name on the front of our jersey. We did that tonight.”
On telling his players at halftime to bring their axes out in the second half …
“When you are down 20, it's hard. But, it has to be hard for us together. We need to work our way through this. You have to pull out your axe and keep swinging. We just kept chipping away. We showed a lot of grit and toughness and we never quit.”
On changing defenses in the second half …
“When you are desperate and down by 18 (points), you say, 'hey, we have to do something different.' We needed a change and it really helped us. It changed the pace of the game and got us some deflections and steals. Our energy level picked up.”
College of Charleston Sophomore Guard Cameron Johnson
On his and the team's mindset going from 20 down to being tied and going to overtime …
“In the back of my head, I knew we had been in this situation before. Coach (Grant) and our bench never gave up on us. Coach said coming out of halftime, 'Bring your axe. We will be chopping wood.' Honestly, I am just so invested in the game, in my head I am thinking, 'regardless of the score, I am feeling good about where the game is going.'”
College of Charleston Redshirt Freshman Forward Nick Harris
On his first career double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds …
“I honestly didn't know (in the game). I was surprised. I was just trying to get on the glass.”
On the difference in the second half of play …
“We are a defensive team, so it starts on defense and that leads to our offense. Once we start getting stops, the offense was easy. We just locked-in and got the stops.”
