Charleston, S.C. – Charleston Basketball snapped a 3-game skid with a thrilling 74-73 win over William & Mary on Tuesday at TD Arena. Senior John Meeks' late-game heroics lifted the Cougars to a key victory as the 6-6 forward got a game-winning floater to rattle home with 1.1 seconds left.
Freshman Reyne Smith poured in a career-high 25 points to lead Charleston, hitting six triples for the second straight game. After William & Mary went into halftime clinging to a 1-point lead, the Cougars raced out of the gate in the second frame and put together a 15-2 run capped by a Smith 3-pointer.
CofC's lead swelled to as many as 15 with 9:13 remaining on a Smith triple, but the Tribe fired back. William & Mary answered, erasing the deficit, and knotting the score at 69-69 with 1:55 to go. Smith's sixth trey pushed CofC ahead by four, but William & Mary surged in front in a seesaw battle to take a 73-72 lead with five seconds left.
That's when head coach Pat Kelsey turned to his senior leader in Meeks, drawing up a set play in the post. Meeks capitalized, burying a game-clinching floater in traffic.
CofC shot 13-of-14 from the foul line and outpaced the Tribe, 48-44 on the glass. The Cougars buried nine threes as a team and shot 37 percent overall in the win.
Key Cougars
- Reyne Smith matched his career-high with seven field goals and six 3-pointers en route a career-high 25 points.
- Junior Brenden Tucker scored 12 points off the bench, his most since Dec. 31 vs. Delaware.
- John Meeks reached double figures for the eighth straight game with 11 points, including the game-winner.
- Freshman Ben Burnham posted nine points and seven rebounds.
Game Notes
- Tuesday marked the fifth game of Charleston's season decided by one possession. CofC is 3-2 in those games, including two-game winners in the final seconds.
- Tuesday mirrored the ending with Delaware as Charleston went to Meeks trailing by one yet again, but this time he sunk the game-winner.
- Smith has now made 56 triples already this season, which is just four shy of cracking CofC's all-time single season 3s list.
- Dimitrius Underwood corralled four more steals, giving him a CAA-high 43.
- Charles Lampten finished with a career-high five blocked shots.
Up Next
The Cougars continue their homestand when they take on Hofstra on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET. The game at TD Arena is set to air on FloSports.