Cougars Put Away Mountaineers

Final Score: College of Charleston 73, Appalachian State 64
Top Performers: Jeremy Simmons 18 pts, 9 rebs, 6-8 FG
                              Donald Sims 21 pts, played all 40 minutes

Hoped to try and get a quick summary in last night after the game but it was a busy sports day in Charleston. Shortly after the CofC game, a handful of people (including myself) drove up to the North Charleston Coliseum to cheer on the South Carolina Stingrays in their annual "Pink in the Rink" game. It turned out to be a good day for sports as both teams ended up winning. After the jump you can read my thoughts from the basketball game.

Going into this game, I was expecting to see a high scoring grudge match between both squads. Not necessarily in the mold of the Chattanooga game (both teams running wind sprints up and down the court, jacking up shots) but more of a half-court, jump shooting game. Neither team is weak defensively, but both run their offense through high scoring guards. Donald Sims for App State and Goudelock for the Cougars. Both are top 15 in the nation in points per game and both are a barometer for their team's success.

What the game turned out to be was a hard-nosed defensive battle in the paint. Goudelock never got it going, probably due to his lingering flu symptoms, and other players had to step up. Simmons responded to the challenge with his second solid game in a row and recorded his 1,000th career point at the College. For App State, Donald Sims was being heavily guarded by Monroe and Lawrence. Like the Cougars, the Mountaineers needed a second scoring option. Wiggins, Goudelock and Hall took turns defending Omar Carter so he became a non-factor. With nothing around him, Sims resorted to driving to the basket and getting his points with fadeaway jumpers and at the line. It was not a very efficient way to score, Sims finished playing the entire game shooting 7-14.

The reason Donald Sims was able to get his shots off despite the admirable defense from Monroe and London, was probably due in part to the plethora of illegal screens set for him. Knowing they did not know how to shoot from beyond 3 feet, App State's forwards instead used moving pick after moving pick to deter Monroe (who took a beating and ended up blowing an eardrum).

The lead for the Cougars remained pretty comfortable throughout the entire contest. I was glad to see the defense respond to big App State plays, rather than waiting for Goudelock to knock down a patented three. Wiggins hit big baskets and Simmons altered many more shots than he gets credit for in the box score. The Cougars played like they did against Furman. They played solid defense, found alternative ways to score (dumping the ball inside) and committed few mental errors. We may very well consider this game a turning point if the Cougars are playing this way at the end of the season.