GREENSBORO, NC – The College of Charleston men's basketball team defeated North Carolina A&T 69-59 on Saturday in Greensboro for the Cougars' 20
th win of the season. With the win, Chris Mack becomes the fourth first-year head coach in program history to reach 20 wins in the first season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Charleston started the game on a 12-2 run over a four and a half minutes stretch for an early 12-6 lead.
- After then going without a field goal for nearly three minutes, AJ Smith sank a mid-range floater to set up a Derrin Boyd triple and back-to-back Adam Comer lays to take a 26-18 edge with five minutes to play.
- The Cougars were 6-8 from the field to end the half to enter the locker room up 40-29 with their largest lead of the game. Justas Stonkus led Charleston with ten points while CJ Fulton had nine first half assists.
- Charleston held A&T without a basketball for nearly three minutes to open the second half before falling cold themselves, going 1-7 from the field. Despite struggling from the field, A&T was never able to cut the lead to single digits.
- Three straight Tavarez triples help the Cougars pull away at 66-53 and never look back on the way to the program's 20th win of the season.
KEY COUGARS
- Tavarez had a team-high 20 points, going 50% from the field, followed by Smith with 18 and Stonkus with ten.
- Fulton dished out 11 assists, the third highest mark in a single game in program history and just one behind his career high.
- Brzovic grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
GAME NOTES
- Charleston shot 50% from the field in the first half and 44% for the game.
- The Cougars dished out 20 assists, the fifth time season reaching 20+.
- Mack joins Tom Herrion, Bobby Cremins, and Doug Wojcik in reaching 20 wins in their first season on the sidelines.
UP NEXT
- Charleston, now 20-7 and 10-4 in CAA play, will face the Northeastern Huskies on Thursday, February 20 in Boston. Action is set for 7:00 p.m. at Mathews Arena.
