For video of coach Mike Dement's postgame comments, click here.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston went on a 26-6 run in a span of over 10 minutes in the second half to blow open a tight contest as UNCG fell to the Cougars, 87-69, on Saturday at Carolina First Arena.
The Cougars (19-7, 12-2 Southern Conference), who put all five starters in double figures, were led by Trent Wiedeman and Willis Hall, who each scored 18 points. Antwaine Wiggins put up 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the lone double-double of the game. Donovan Monroe also had 13 points, while Andrew Goudelock, the front runner for SoCon player of the year, was held to 12 points on 4-15 shooting.
Trevis Simpson led the Spartans (5-19, 5-9 SoCon) with 17 points and Brandon Evans added 14 points, all of them coming before halftime. Coming off a career-high 24 points on Monday night, Brian Cole was in double figures with 12 points and Aaron Brackett pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Trailing 43-40 coming out of halftime, UNCG and the Cougars traded some baskets in the early part of the second half before Simpson knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 49-46 with 16:09 left in the half.
That is when the Spartans went cold from the field and College of Charleston broke open the game. The Cougars blew open a close game with a 26-6 run over a span of 10 minutes and 26 seconds to take a commanding 75-52 lead. UNCG had only two field goals during that span with two separate droughts of over four minutes without a field goal.
Prior to that run, UNCG had shot 19-35 from the field for 54.3 percent, but during that span of over 10 minutes, the Spartans shot just 2-9 from the field and turned the ball over on multiple possessions.
After falling behind by 23 in the half, the Spartans were only able to cut the Cougar lead down to 15 on a layup by Cole, but that was as close as UNCG would get the rest of the night.
The opening 20 minutes of the game was action packed as the two teams swapped the lead seven times and were tied seven times.
The teams went shot-for-shot with each other in the opening minutes before College of Charleston was able to extend its lead out to six at 26-20 on a layup by Monroe. A pair of free throws by Wiedeman at the 5:49 mark gave the Cougars a six-point lead again at 32-26.
The Spartans then turned it on as they went on an 11-0 run over a three minute span to take a 37-32 lead. Evans contributed five points in that run, while Aloysius Henry had a pair of baskets too.
The Cougars would rally back to tie the game at 40 with 43 seconds before the half and then Goudelock hit a 3-pointer as he was floating to his right at the buzzer to give CofC a 43-40 lead at the half.
UNCG committed 17 turnovers in the contest, 10 of them coming after halftime, compared to just four for the Cougars. The Spartans outshot CofC from the field as they went 26-52 (50%) compared to just 30-68 (44.1%) for College of Charleston.
The Cougars also took advantage of UNCG's 10-for-20 mark from the charity stripe, while College of Charleston connected on 19 of its 22 attempts from the line.
The Spartans return home on Tuesday for their final nonconference game of the season as they host ACC foe Miami at 7 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.
AGATE
College of Charleston 87, UNCG 69
UNCG (5-19, 5-9)
SIMPSON, Trevis 5-9 6-10 17; EVANS, Brandon 5-10 3-4 14; COLE, Brian 5-7 1-2 12; HENRY, Aloysius 3-5 0-0 6; RANDALL, Kyle 2-5 0-0 5; BRACKETT, Aaron 2-3 0-2 5; HENEGAR, Cody 1-2 0-0 3; PARKER, Drew 1-3 0-0 3; SELLERS, Darrius 1-1 0-2 2; WILLIAMS, David 1-3 0-0 2; DAVIS, Brandon 0-0 0-0 0; VAN DUSSEN, Korey 0-3 0-0 0; McNEELY, Tyler 0-1 0-0 0; HOFFER, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 10-20 69.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (19-7, 12-2)WIEDEMAN, Trent 4-9 10-11 18; HALL, Willis 8-9 1-1 18; WIGGINS, Antwaine 4-7 4-5 14; MONROE, Donavan 6-15 0-0 13; GOUDELOCK, Andrew 4-15 2-3 12; LAWRENCE, Andrew 1-5 2-2 5; JOHNSON, Nori 1-1 0-0 3; CARLTON, James 1-2 0-0 2; SCOTT, Jordan 1-4 0-0 2; CAMPBELL, Garrett 0-0 0-0 0; BENTON, Bart 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-68 19-22 87.
UNCG.......................... 40 29 - 69
College of Charleston......... 43 44 - 87
3-point goals--UNCG 7-16 (SIMPSON, Trevis 1-3; COLE, Brian 1-3; PARKER, Drew 1-2; HENEGAR, Cody 1-1; BRACKETT, Aaron 1-1; RANDALL, Kyle 1-3; EVANS, Brandon 1-3), College of Charleston 8-27 (WIGGINS, Antwaine 2-5; GOUDELOCK, Andrew 2-9; HALL, Willis 1-1; JOHNSON, Nori 1-1; MONROE, Donavan 1-4; LAWRENCE, Andrew 1-5; BENTON, Bart 0-1; SCOTT, Jordan 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None, College of Charleston-None. Rebounds--UNCG 35 (BRACKETT, Aaron 10), College of Charleston 37 (WIGGINS, Antwaine 11). Assists--UNCG 15 (PARKER, Drew 5), College of Charleston 13 (GOUDELOCK, Andrew 8). Total fouls--UNCG 21, College of Charleston 14. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, College of Charleston-None. A-4048
- UNCG -
