Final Score: College of Charleston 83, Citadel 64
Top Performers: Trent Wiedeman 22 points (career high), 10 rebounds
Mike Groselle 20 points, 19 rebounds (10 offensive)
In the first game I've been able to attend all season, the Cougars began by bricking three consecutive three pointers that missed the net, the rim and the backboard. Nothing but air.
This was a bit of a forewarning for the overall pace and excitement level of a CofC-Citadel rivalry matchup at TD Arena that fell short of expectations. I cant imagine the 5,000+ spectators left downtown that evening feeling exhilarated by the flat basketball display they witnessed for nearly two hours. Both teams struggled to get going and the final quarter of the game was a near silent, noncompetitive contest of two teams who showed they still have a ways to go. A win is a win, especially in conference play, but the Cougars need to step up their play if they hope to make a statement this season.
The poor early shooting may be attributed to brushing off the rust of having not played since the Bahamas. It wasn't until some outside shooting from Sunshine and Lawrence got us some breathing room and a series of steals and layups helped us boost up the atrocious field goal percentage of the first 10 minutes.
The biggest issue I saw last night was the rebounding. For a team that might have the best front line in the conference, the Cougars were being decimated on the boards (mostly by one opposing player). Mike Groselle tore us a new one for 37 minutes last night. He finished with a near 20 and 20 game and abused everyone not named Trent. I said it in the preview and I'll say it again, he's got some Noah Dahlman in his game. The way he establishes position so early in the play, he's never far from the basket and gets his layups to go completely uncontested (although the dunks were a bit more challenging). Groselle added a cherry on top of his performance by going 6 of 6 from the free throw line and getting 10 offensive boards.
But back to our own rebounding incompetence. Here's how bad it was, Matt Sundberg finished with more rebounds than Adjehi Baru and James Carlton COMBINED. Sunshine finished with four rebounds, all the while being a huge defensive liability and being out of position; compared to TWO total rebounds from Baru and a lone rebound in garbage time from Carlton. How such a piss poor stat like that occurs is beyond me. The two tallest and most athletic players on the team were outperformed on the glass by a guy who stands around the perimeter and shoots threes. Baru needs to learn to play aggressively without fouling and Carlton needs to stand under the basket and grab the freaking ball with two hands when a shot is missed.
Luckily for the Cougars, the Bulldogs are still figuring things out and have to lean on one player to get them through the early season. Wiedeman came up huge when he was given the opportunity to go one-on-one against Groselle in the paint. He used a full arsenal of shots and moves to once again show why he is one of the best post players in the conference. Lawrence and Stitt also performed well and were able to chip in 14 and 10 points respectively. Andrew Lawrence also contributed 5 steals and 7 assists.
The next test for the Cougars is at home tomorrow against Chatty. A bunch of people (including their own fans) have written off the Mocs but I'm not ready to put a win in the books. UTC will probably try to run with the Cougs like UMass did, in which I feel good about our chances. But losing at TD Arena to an awful Mocs team is just the type of head scratching loss we're waiting for with this young team. If we play like we did for stretches of last night, a motivated and frustrated Mocs squad might have a chance.
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