Happy V-Day-Cougs Win!

Happy v day Cougs win by 6, beating UT-Chattanooga 79 to 73!

If you are wondering why there are so many prematurely gray-haired gents in the crowd...

(Game-time coverage) It's because the Cougars have just let UT-Chattanooga back in the game. Here is a picture of Andrew Goudelock at the line. Jermaine is having a "Shaq" night from the Charity-Stripe, but everyone else, especially TW-Jr. is taking advantage of the opportunities.

The officials are a nightmare. That's right, I said it. The three-amigos are killing me, I am not sure if they just don't know what a "walk" looks like unless the offender has a white-jersey on, but the zebras are definitely keeping the Moccassins in the game-good bye 10 point lead, hello down to the wire. (For the record: the dark haired guy next to me just had around 50 gray hairs pop-out.

Live by the three, die by the three

Cougs lose on the Road to Chattanooga
The Cougs lost to Chattanooga on Saturday 86-70 dropping to 4-4, (1-1 SoCon). Tony White Jr. led the Cougs with 12 points; Jeremy Simmons was just short of a double-double with 10-points and 8 rebounds.

The Good: The Cougs did come-back from a 20 point deficit 30-8 in the first. And the College of Charleston set a new school record for 3-point attempts.

The Bad: The Cougs only made 10 of the 39 attempted shots from behind the arc.

The Ugly: UTC scored 44 points in the paint compared to the Cougs 18 and the Mocs out rebounded the Cougs 56-36.

Bonus: And finally, Dustin, Jermaine, Antwaine and Tony all had four-fouls, which is either good-tough aggressive “D”, bad officiating or ugly defense.

Photo of Jeremy Simmons guarding UTC’s Qavotstaraj Waddell courtesy of the Chattanooga Times Free Press

David Caraviello's article in the Post & Courier

Draper saves the dayStar scores Cougars' final 6 points, blocks Mocs' shot at buzzerCollege of Charleston 62, Chattanooga 60

Bobby Cremins had a timeout. Dontaye Draper didn't need one. With a Chattanooga defender in front of him and the clock running out, all the College of Charleston's star guard saw was the hoop. (Photo by Wade Spees w/ the Post & Courier)
In one dramatic motion, the 5-11 senior spun around Chattanooga guard Kevin Bridgewaters, scooped in a layup with 4.1 seconds remaining, and just maybe salvaged the Cougars' basketball season. Draper scored the Cougars' final six points of the game, blocked Chattanooga's attempt at a final shot, and rallied Charleston from 13 down to beat the Mocs 62-60 on Thursday before 3,133 at John Kresse Arena.
"They just about had us buried," Cremins said. "We didn't quit. And finally at the end, Dontaye Draper made some big-time plays. We put the ball in his hands, and he delivered."
Marcus Hammond and Jermaine Johnson added 13 each for the College (4-6, 1-1 Southern Conference), which snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided its first 0-2 league start since 2003. Cremins implemented a new motion offense during the recent nine-day exam break, and after four practices the Cougars shot 47.2 percent, their second-best clip of the year.
"Four straight, that's tough," said Draper, who scored a game-high 18. "When we came out of the break, we said it was a new beginning. In the first half of the season, we were still getting to know each other, we didn't have really any half-court offenses in. Now, the week of practice really helped us."
Casey Long scored 11 for Chattanooga (4-5, 0-1), which hit 12 3-point goals, rallied from a 10-0 deficit, and led by 13 with 12:34 remaining. But the Mocs
shot just 4-of-11 from the free throw line, and missed four of five attempts down the stretch.
Charleston took advantage. Two inside baskets by Johnson and another by David Lawrence whittled the deficit down to three with four minutes left, and Draper took over from there. With 2:17 remaining, he spun in for a layup that cut the deficit to one. After Khalil Hartwell made a free throw, Draper bombed a 19-footer over the outstretched hand of 6-7 Mocs forward Nicchaeus Doaks to tie the game with 49 seconds to go.

Long missed an NBA-length 3-point attempt on the other end, and Charleston's Philip McCandies snagged the rebound. As Draper brought the ball up the court, Cremins asked if he needed a timeout. His guard's response: No way.

"I said 'Oh, no. I've got it, Coach,' " Draper said. "Last time at Charleston Southern, (the shot went) in and out. I told him no that time, I told him no this time. I've got the confidence. I'm going to give it all I've got. If I miss the shot, I miss the shot."
In the CSU game, Draper took a 3-pointer that rimmed out and led to overtime, where the Cougars lost. His teammates moved out of the way, isolating Draper and the 5-9 Bridgewaters, who had picked up Draper in transition. It happened fast - a spin move along the baseline, a scooped layup, and pandemonium in John Kresse Arena.
"One of my old moves from back in the day," Draper said.
Bridgewaters never had a chance. "I don't even see him," Draper said. "No disrespect, but I don't even see him. It was just me and the hoop."
Added Bridgewaters: "He made a good move. I don't know what the heck he did. It was kind of out of control."
For much of the second half, Chattanooga coach John Shulman had used bigger players like Hartwell and Doaks to try and thwart Draper's penetration. In the final seconds, off Long's missed 3-pointer, Bridgewaters was his only option.
"If it's football, we can stop the game. But that's in transition D," he said. "You can't decide on a missed shot who's guarding Draper. You pick up in transition D. Bridge is a good one-on-one defender. Draper made a great play."
Chattanooga had a last chance. Ricky Hood inbounded to a cutting Bridgewaters, who tried to hoist a 3-pointer from 20 feet. But Draper - who else - blocked it, and time ran out as players battled for the loose ball.
"I wasn't going to let him shoot the 3," Draper said. "That happened to me, I think my sophomore year, we were playing Davidson here. I made a tough shot, they came down and threw up a scoop shot that went in. I said, 'No.' "
And just like that, what had been a confusing, muddled start to a highly anticipated Charleston basketball season at last found some clarity. With their new offense, the Cougars moved the ball in spots as crisply as they have all year. They shot 55.6 percent in the second half. They snapped the program's longest losing streak in 27 years. They climbed back to .500 in conference play, and their star player played like a star.

"We really needed something like this," Cremins said. "We needed a lift like this."

--Josh Jackson returned from suspension Thursday night, playing 22 minutes and scoring six points. Cremins had said that Jackson, suspended indefinitely since Nov. 20, would return to the team if he was academically eligible following exams ... Assistant coach Andrew Wilson wasn't on the bench Thursday, but on the road recruiting ... Charleston next plays Monday at 8:30 p.m. against Coastal Carolina in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

3-Point Field Goals - Chatt 12-27 (Doaks 0-2, Mays 3-6, Hood 2-4, Long 3-7, Watts 0-1, Bridgewaters 2-5, Troupe 2-2); C of C 4-21 (Lawrence 0-6, Draper 2-9, Hammond 2-4, White 0-2). Steals - Chatt 4 (Mays, Long 2); C of C 9 (Draper 3). Blocks - Chatt 0; C of C 7 (Lawrence, Jackson 2). Turnovers - Chatt 16 (Long, Bridgewater 3); C of C 15 (McCandies 3). Technicals - None. A - 3,133.

Good Guys Wear White! Charleston ends their losing streak, beating UT-Chattanooga, 62 to 60

The College defeats Chattanooga at Kresse!
Despite trailing from the 12:37 mark in the 1st half until the final 60 seconds and being down by 7-points at the half, the Cougars dug deep, played tough and brought home a victory on the backs of the prodigal son (Josh Jackson) and a hard-court general wearing #11 (Dontaye Draper). Is it any shock that Dontaye would have his own melody from the rowdies in the student section? No, just insert his first name into the o-lay, o-lay, o-lay-soccer chant, and you have a splendid Dont-Ay-o-lay-o-lay, Don-tay, Don-tay! (Photos compliments of CofC SportsFan)

From the Den
Dontaye led the Cougs with 18-points and brought the crowd at Kresse to their feet by hitting a 18-footer with 51-seconds left to tie the game at 60, and then brought home a win, driving to the basket and sliding in a lay-up with 4.1-seconds left on the clock. (Don-tay, o-lay, o-lay, Don-tay! Don-Tay!) Josh Jackson returned from his suspension and put 6-points on the board in his 22-minutes of playing time. David Lawrence had 4-points, 4 assists and 9-boards, combined with Jermaine Johnson and Marcus Hammond 13-a-piece, and a 12-1 run with 5-minutes left on the board to bring the Cougs home a badly needed victory.

The Cougs shot 47.2% versus the 41.5% from the field the Mocs were able to put on the board. The College was able to contain the Mocs' scoring duo of Mays and Bridgewater as well as stifle what paltry offense Tyler "Airball" Troupe could muster. Eyes off Tyler! Don't stare down the crowd when you finally make a basket after lofting 4 precious attempts.

Excellent job Cougs! Mocs, thanks for playing!

Cougs face Chattanooga

The College (3-6, 0-1) takes on UT-Chattanooga (5-4, 0-0) tonight at 7 pm. The series between the two teams is tied at 9; the Cougs lost to Chattanooga in their last meeting during the SoCon Tournament last March by 2-points. (Yes, I was the guy in the stands yelling at the refs that they robbed Dontaye of his last second 3-point basket to win the game. Come on refs!) Sure, I was shocked the game was so close because the Cougs defeated the Mocs by 14-points at Kresse Arena last January during the regular season, and I doubt tonight’s game will be any different. The teams are matched up quite brilliantly for size and speed. Also, both teams are coming off of an eight-game break for finals and a loss from an SEC opponent.

Home Court Coaching
With home court advantage, the Cougs will break their ‘slide’ tonight as we are 6-1 @ Kresse against UT-C and Coach Cremins is 8-2 (lifetime) against the Moccasins. Although, UT-C Coach John Shulman is 2-1 against the Cougs his Mocs have yet to beat the Cougars @ Kresse. But let’s not stuff the ‘W’ in our pocket before the buzzer; Coach Shulman put a couple of tough opponents on the Mocs schedule (namely Florida (L: 44-93) and Kentucky (L: 63-79) so his team is just as battle-tested as we Maroons are.

Recon
Although, we are struggling on offense, the Cougars are very strong on defense (Bobby Cremins trademark) and if they can keep the pressure (especially) on the Mocs’ perimeter, then the College will win tonight. Despite not having Josh Jackson throwing his weight around in the paint, the Cougs should be able to control the boards tonight-as the College has the edge in size and experience.

Never turn your back on a Moccasin!
Chattanooga is explosive with their offense. They will try to work their “big” men down under the basket more this evening in order to free up their highly talented perimeter man, especially Keddric Mays. Mays made his 100th trey this year in his 34th career game against ETSU last month. He’s averaging 25-points a game and he is dangerous. UK Coach Tubby Smith made the mistake of matching the Mocs with smaller guys and Mays went on a shooting spree from behind the arc hitting 7-treys as the Mocs closed a 33-point deficit with 15-minutes on the clock to a 9-point deficit with 4-minutes left in the ball game. Lesson learned: Cougs, even if you think the Mocs are down for the count, keep chopping until the buzzer sounds, and then put the ‘W’ in your pocket.