Clueless First Half Dooms Cougars, Wildcats Have Their Way

Final Score: Davidson 87, College of Charleston 69

Top Performers: Jake Cohen 29 points, 14 rebounds

Very physical game. Cohen, Baru, Wiedeman and Johnson all hit the deck in agony at certain points and there were a total of 44 fouls called on the night. With Socon Tournament implications, the Cougars once again showed the same lapses in focus on defense that plagued them in our losses over the last month. Not getting back off an inbounds, losing a man on a switch, letting Cohen get his shots off. It was almost like pick your poison in the first half.

What hurt the most (and trust me, there was a lot that hurt) in that first twenty minutes was how much our inability to rebound affected the rest of our game. Over halfway through the period and the Cougars were only able to amass two, count 'em, two rebounds. Baru eventually finished with 3 for the game and Wiedeman had 5 in performances that were in stark contrast to the Elon game. It could've been chasing Cohen around the court or the physicality of the game but it negated what little we were doing well on defense. Can't stay in the game when the other team is getting 2-3 chances at a shot per possession and we can't come up with any second chances. Lawrence began the game driving to the rack at will and getting steals but he and the other Cougars couldn't find the bottom of the net and Davidson was quick to limit any further opportunities.

A second half mini-scoring run spearheaded by Antwaine and Nori Johnson almost got us within striking distance. With Cohen on the bench and a switch to a pressing defensive set, things got interesting but that 12 point halftime deficit was too much to overcome. Throw in us trading misses for threes with the Wildcats the last couple minutes and you get that final blowout score. 

More notes I took on the game:

• Bad breaks and some fluke plays set the tone in the first half. Within the first 3-4 baskets Davidson made, one was a tip-in by Baru and one was a block by Trent that landed right in the hands of Cohen in front of the basket.
• Did I mention the Cougars only collected two rebounds in the first 10 minutes?
• Not sure what was more embarrassing for the city of Charleston, CofC's dreadful free throw shooting or the audience's applause to certain remarks at the GOP debate...(political statement!)
• If there was a player for the Cougs who did deserve to be a "Top Performer" it would have to be Nori. He really came to play. Fifteen points on 5-8 shooting, three steals and he actually hit his free throws. 
• Not far behind Nori in terms of effort was Antwaine. Those two, four-point plays he had in the first half were a rare highlight. Also led us in rebounding and only had 1 turnover. 
• Scary moment for Cougar fans when our other prized freshman went down grasping his ankle. Someone must have shot Baru up with one of those needles Kobe's been using on his wrist because the kid came right back in and blocked a shot. 
• Sundberg was 1-6 on threes for the game (the team was lucky to end up 7-26 thanks to Twaine and Nori). He also got abused by Cohen and Ben-Eze many a time. Starting to forget what he brings to the table. Not completely forgotten, but starting to...

The Wildcats played lights out and really stuck it to the Cougs when it counted. Late in the shot clock, after we went on a run etc. It certainly hurts our standings in the South but we knew this would be a tough game. The next time we play this team is at home on February 11th and I still think we have a shot. Hell, if we could make some damn free throws and rebound at a respectable rate, this one could've gone down to the wire. But for now, Coach has got to really get on the guys about playing hard AND smart for a whole 40 minutes. On to Georgia Southern.