Cougars Split Second CAA Series
Final Score: College of Charleston 72, Hofstra 61
Top Performers:
Marquise Pointer 19 pts (4–9 3pt), 6 asts, 2 stls
Rokas Gustys 16 pts, 10 rebs, 26 mins
Playing without leading scorer Canyon Barry (as well as lone senior and first big sub James Bourne…and projected starting point guard Joe Chealey…and expected contributor Grant Riller…), the Cougar pups faced their second Thursday-Saturday CAA swing. First up was the senior-laden, pre-season favorites from Hofstra.
Early on, the Pride looked the part. They were hitting the mid range jumpers that the Cougar defense gave them, and CofC spotted some extra scoring opportunities with turnovers. Those giveaways were to be expected from a squad looking to pick up Canyon’s offense.
Setting the tone early for CofC was freshman center Nick Harris — who scored the team’s first seven points. As we saw in the LSU game, Harris is a different player when he gets off to a good start. With depth not being a luxury for either team, Harris and his teammates stayed out of foul trouble to keep the rebounding edge close and the offense humming. Harris would lead the team with 7 boards.
In his first collegiate start, Marquise Pointer looked like the best player on the court. He seemed to hit a long three every time the Pride threatened with a run, and took his turn holding preseason Player of the Year Juan’ya Green to just 10 points. Everyone helped pick up the scoring load, with Hulsey and Bailey looking for their shot more often. Cam Johnson and Jarrell Brantley also contributed double digit scoring performances.
Once Hofstra stopped hitting inefficient shots, CofC jumped on them and cracked open their largest lead about midway through the second half. In the end, Charleston held the Pride to their lowest point total of the season. An impressive victory to put the other CAA teams on notice.
Final Score: Drexel 61, College of Charleston 54
Top Performers:
Rodney Williams 19 pts (7–11 FG, 5–7 FT), 3 rebs
Payton Hulsey 11 pts (5–6 FG), 4 asts
You don’t have to look back too far to see how the Cougars last responded to a big conference win. In the CAA’s new Thursday-Saturday schedule, that second leg always promises to be a challenge. Charleston learned that the hard way when, after a big season opening win over JMU, they got blitzed by William & Mary in Virginia. Coach Grant expressed some concern after the big Hofstra win as to how his young team would respond after the quick turnaround from Charleston to Philly.
If the Hofstra game represented the best case scenario for the shorthanded Cougars to play, the game less than 48 hours later represented a disappointing counterpoint and reality check. Dealing with fatigue (all three starting guards played 35+ mins in the previous game) and role players forced into starring roles, CofC never got into rhythm.
Two costly issues plagued the Cougars all game: fouls and turnovers. Whether those were due to tired legs, a lack of prep or a lack of focus: only the coaching staff knows. After staying out of foul trouble against Hofstra, the bigger and bruising Dragons presented problems for Charleston. Drexel scored nearly half of their game points (28 of 61) from the free throw line, a product of 35 trips to the charity stripe for the home team. The Cougars attempted 11, making 7.
Unlike the Hofstra game, Nick Harris got himself into trouble early with fouls and was limited to just seven minutes. That forced seldom-used Terrance O’Donohue and Donovan Gilmore into duty, allowing talented forward Rodney Williams to have his way down low. This is a game where the team missed James Bourne’s one-on-one defense.
They also missed Canyon Barry’s offensive firepower. The game was ugly throughout, with both Charleston and the 2–12 Dragons more than willing to throw up bad shots and turn the ball over. A reflection of that, Payton Hulsey was the only Cougar to crack double digits in scoring. The Drexel defense played to the potential they started to show as of late, and the Cougs did not have enough playmaking left over from the previous game.
Even with so many factors working to their disadvantage, the Cougs found themselves down just three with 4:11 to play. Unfortunately, the mental mistakes of a young team came back to bite the road squad as the Dragons scored their final 10 points off free throws.
Many Cougar fans would hate to admit that Drexel presented a strong “trap game” possibility, but the signs were there: big win in the last game, followed by a quick flight on little rest for the undermanned Cougars. With a win, Charleston would be tied for first in the conference, but the loss drops them back into the middle of the pack four games into CAA play.
Grant’s team will need to learn how to win the Saturday league games. Next up on the schedule is a home and home against W&M and Elon. First and foremost, they need to get healthy.
