Charleston, S.C. -- Charleston Men's Basketball captured the Rising Coaching Classic title on Saturday, downing Loyola, 79-72, to cap a perfect 3-0 season-opening weekend. Junior
Brenden Tucker earned Rising Coaching Classic MVP with another stellar performance, erupting for a team-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Tucker is averaging 16.7 PPG on 71.4 percent shooting from 3-point range through three contests.
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Senior
John Meeks poured in 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists in an all-around dominant outing. Meeks' effort on the glass helped CofC dominate in the rebounding column for the third consecutive night as the Cougars outpaced Loyola, 50-32, and snagged 18 offensive boards.
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Charleston's deep bench helped the Cougars outlast Loyola in the second half. Kelsey's squad racked up 43 bench points with Tucker,
Dalton Bolon and
Ben Burnham combining for 38 off the pine. Burnham reached double figures for the first time in his career with 11 points.
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CofC got out to a hot start once again, jumping ahead 15-0 out of the gate behind a barrage of 3-pointers. The Cougars led for 38:38 and never trailed. Loyola steadily cut into the lead and got within five at half. Both teams traded buckets throughout the second half, but Loyola never clawed within one possession as CofC made enough clutch buckets and converted at the foul line to seal the win.
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Key Cougars
- Junior Brenden Tucker led CofC with 20 points, his most since Jan. 17, 2021.
- Senior John Meeks reached double figures for the ninth straight game with 18 points and added eight rebounds and a career-high six assists.
- Freshmen Ben Burnham and Reyne Smith chipped in 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
- Dimitrius Underwood led CofC in rebounding from the point guard position, hauling in 12 on the night.
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Key Cougars
- Meeks is just the sixth Cougar since 2010 to tally at least 18 points, eight boards and six assists in the same game, joining legends Grant Riller, Jarrell Brantley, Joe Chealey, Canyon Barry and Andrew Lawrence.
- CofC begins the season 3-0 for the first time since 2018-19.
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Up Next
The Cougars welcome North Carolina to TD Arena in front of a sellout crowd on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
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