PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Ante Brzovic scored his 1500^th career point as the College of Charleston men's basketball team earned a comeback 78-75 win over Saint Joseph's on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Charleston defense caused three St. Joe's turnovers in opening 90 seconds of play before getting on the board with a Derrin Boyd driving layup off the pass from Ante Brzovic. Down 13-5 at the media first time out, the Cougars rattled off a 9-3 run to make it 16-14 with twelve minutes to play.
• Charleston took their first lead of the contest at 17-16 on a Brzovic triple. The Cougars' went 3-4 from behind the arc during the run with makes from Brzovic, Deywilk Tavarez, and Djordje Curcic.
• Lazar Djokovic ended a 6-0 Hawk run with an emphatic dunk before St. Joe's took their largest lead of the game at 43-34. Despite several SJU runs, Charleston never backed down. Two-made free throws from AJ Smith made it a 43-36 game at the break. Brzovic led CofC with nine points in the frame.
• SJU regained a nine-point advantage in the early minutes of the second half before three straight Charleston triples from Tavarez, Boyd and CJ Fulton cut the deficit to three at 53-50.
• The Hawks took their largest lead of the game at 63-52 with 11 minutes to play. Charleston had an answer again, with Justas Stonkus, Smith and Brzovic leading the charge on a 15-2 run to tie the game. CofC took their first lead since 11:06 in the first half at 67-65 and never looked back.
• Smith went 5-6 from the field in the final five minutes to help seal the 78-75 comeback victory.

Here come the Cougs! We're all tied up on Hawk Hill with under seven to play. pic.twitter.com/QqLrY37Hri

— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) December 11, 2024

KEY COUGARS

• Smith led Charleston with 18 points off the bench, his most in a Cougar uniform. 12 of his 18 came in the second half.
• Brzovic's 1500^th point came on a three in the opening minutes of the second half. He had 17 points, his eighth double-digit scoring outing of the season.
• Fulton dished out nine assists, tying his career high, to go with a season high four steals.
• Tavarez and Boyd each grabbed a team best five rebounds.

AJ SMITH ?????? pic.twitter.com/3JC7PiYjeT

— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) December 11, 2024

GAMES NOTES

• Charleston was a perfect 13-13 from the free throw line.
• The Cougars had 19 assists on 28 made field goals.
• Seven different Cougars recorded a steal.
• This is Charleston's first win of the season after being down at the half.
• This is the second consecutive win over the Hawks for Charleston to end the home-and-home series undefeated.

UP NEXT

• Charleston, now 7-2, returns to action at home on December 16 when in-state rival Wofford comes to TD Arena. Action is set for 7:00 p.m.
• Fans can purchase $25 lower bowl tickets as a part of Charleston's "Home for the Holidays" promotion here.