*The scene inside the huddle after the Cougars gave up the lead to GSU. Mark Byington is played by Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell takes on the role of Trent Wiedeman
Final Score: College of Charleston 58, Georgia Southern 53
Top Performers: Trent Wiedeman 18 points, 5 rebounds
Willie Powers 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Just like how I imagined it, Anthony Stitt rode into TD Arena on his white horse and delivered a dagger three ball to push the Cougars to a thrilling victory in their home finale. Ok maybe it wasn't that glorious. Stitt can't be the only one credited for this win, being that the aforementioned shot was his only make on the night in six attempts, but he definitely played a major part.
The Cougars jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Georgia Southern to start the game. The Eagles looked like the GSU teams of the last 2-3 years and couldn't get anything going offensively. Meanwhile the Cougars played the balance between energy and poise perfectly and were moving the ball on offense to get some really good looks. Unlike their previous matchup, Eric Ferguson had Adjehi Baru on him and was essentially neutralized when they went at each other one-on-one. The Cougars were in control when Stitt made his first appearance in nearly two months to a raucous cheer from the crowd.
What I was worried about more than anything with Stitt was his handle. He still has some tape on his fingers and on top of his hand that could affect the way he palms the ball. Watching Kobe play this year with a broken wrist, his shot hasn't suffered as much as his control over the basketball on the dribble. Stitt's ball-handling was actually better than I expected and his defense didn't skip a beat. I had forgotten just how quick he is moving laterally and staying in front of his man. Unfortunately his shooting hasn't come back entirely and he missed some shots he used to make with ease. On the flip side, the young man did make a big shot when it really mattered.
Now I don't know if Lawrence was seizing the opportunity to play fewer minutes or if he's turning over a new leaf, but he looked more like a pure point guard than he has all year. Our token Brit was making some pinpoint bounce passes to Trent off of cuts and only took shots when they were within the flow of the offense. The team captain finished the night with a very efficient stat line of 10 points (2-4 on 3's, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 steal).
But if you have watched the Cougars at all this year you know that no lead is ever safe. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the lead, most noticeably during a six minute stretch to open the second half where the Cougs only hit two shots. To their credit, CofC played good enough defense to hold the lead, but GSU made some ridiculous shots. Like shooting from the hip kind of shots. Contested turnaround hook shots. To make matters worse during that slide, there was one series that went as follows for the Cougars.
-A no-call on a pretty obvious goaltend as Trent Wiedeman's shot was dropping down toward the basket
-A flop by Eric Ferguson that was called as an offensive foul on Trent
-Technical on Trent (I'm no lip reader but it looked like he said "That's forking Bull Street!" to the ref
- GSU basket and-1 going the other way
-Technical on Andrew Lawrence
Couple that stretch with the Cougars inability to hit free throws (9-20) and you have another nailbiter going down to the wire. Luckily, Wiedeman played like a rabid beast coming off the bench after his technical was administered. He turned on the jets and got out in transition on three plays in a row and delivered two Thor-dunks to get the crowd back into the game. The late three by Stitt and a few more plays under the basket by our big men eventually sealed the victory for the College.
More notes from this one, in chronological order:
- Lawrence's passing: throwing the ball over the press into the hands of your teammate? Perfect outlet passes? Where has that been all year?!
- Too much "Let's Go Eagles" made it's way through my speakers. Step it up, student section
- Sundberg watching too many rebounds go the other way
- Baru has been quiet offensively for a few games, but his defensive presence is still so intimidating. That block he had was such a grown-ass man type of move.
- 19 turnovers by the Eagles, feels like that number could've been higher
- Another good coaching job by Byington. Scott and Carlton played limited minutes but Mark still makes very good offensive/defensive substitutions late in the game.
Make sure to keep track of what all these Socon scores mean for tournament seedings and matchups by checking out the Mocs pair of blogs: Mocs Mania and Socon Fans.
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