Charleston, S.C. – Charleston Men's Basketball lost to UNC Wilmington, 86-78, on Monday night at TD Arena. The Cougars drop to 9-6 on the campaign and 1-2 in CAA action.
Monday's battle featured yet another tight affair for CofC, marking the sixth straight game for the Cougars decided by single digits. UNCW and Charleston shot efficiently from the field, boasting a 48.5 percent clip and 52.7 percent clip, respectively. The Seahawks forced 18 Charleston turnovers and poured in 21 points off those miscues to seize an edge and ward off a CofC comeback down the stretch.
Senior John Meeks scored a season-high 27 points in the loss, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor and adding three assists and three rebounds. It marked the most points scored by any Cougar in a game this season.
Freshman Reyne Smith found his stroke again, finishing with 17 points on five threes off the bench, his highest scoring output since Dec. 3. Smith has now hit 5+ triples in four different game this season.
One of Smith's five threes came at the 6:55 mark in the second half, which sliced UNCW's second-half lead all the way down to one at 65-64. The Seahawks answered swiftly, burying a trifecta of their own on the ensuing possession. That triple sparked a key 7-0 UNCW run which pushed the Seahawk lead back out to eight.
Charleston would get within four with just a under a minute to play on a Meeks 3-pointer, but it wasn't enough as UNCW held on for the victory.
Key Cougars
- Meeks' 27-point performance marked his highest scoring output since a 32-point performance at Bucknell against Lafayette in the 2021 Patriot League tournament.
- Dimitrius Underwood filled up the box score again, piling up 13 points, a team-high nine rebounds and two steals.
- Freshman Reyne Smith shot 6-of-9 en route to 17 points.
Game Notes
- After a season-high 27 points on Monday, Meeks is now just 109 points shy of the 1,000-career point club.
Up Next
The Cougars hit the road to face Towson on Thursday night in Baltimore. Tip-off on FloSports is set for 7 p.m. ET.
