Final Score: College of Charleston 62, Vermont 50
Top Performers:
Andrew Lawrence 21 points (8-13 FG), 5 assists, 5 rebounds
Anthony Stitt 19 points (7-11 FG) 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Would've been the end to more than one streak had the Cougars dropped this game today. But with the victory CofC has won 3 straight games, are 4-0 on the road this season and 8-0 all time against America East opponents. This was another quality win. Vermont was an NCAA Tournament team last year and a pre-season favorite to win the conference. The Cougars were playing in a tough road environment with little time to prepare (2 days of practice and a delayed flight) and still gutted out a W.
Going in one of the things to watch for was Vermont's flex offense. They don't have many athletes on their team but Coach Becker's squad does a really good job of getting quick cuts to the basket. Despite the uniqueness of such an offense, the Cougars did a really good job in both their man-to-man and zone sets to defend against it. The CofC defense continues to be a real strong suit for Coach Wojcik, and with just one more non-conference game on the schedule (plus the Bracketbuster), it should be enough to keep them in most Southern Conference contests should the offense struggle.
Of course it didn't hurt that the Catamounts missed about a dozen layups at the rim. That was certainly an anomaly but it's a risk you take in the flex system. See if you can follow me here. When a Vermont player makes a cut, the ball has to get into his hands and up to the basket quickly - otherwise help side defense can slide over. When the pass doesn't come exactly on time - almost simultaneously as the cut begins- the player's momentum has carried him under the basket when he puts the shot up and it hits the bottom of the rim. That seemed to be the majority of the missed layups.
To neutralize those missed shots the Cats did a really good job of rebounding the ball. It's rare for this Cougar squad to be out-rebounded but Vermont finished with a 36-34 edge and a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Putting the rebounding load on his back was Willis Hall who finished with a dozen on the afternoon.
The Cougar forwards really had a tough day. The Vermont defense seemed intent on limiting Baru and Thomas inside and living with whatever they gave up on the perimeter. Combining the three CofC starting forwards final shooting stats is not a pretty sight: 5-20 from the field, 1-4 from the free throw line and 9 fouls between Hall, Baru and Thomas. Baru was second on the team with 6 rebounds.
With Trent still sidelined the Cougars got a really noteworthy showing out of freshman Theo Johnson. In just 15 minutes of relief time as Baru went out with 3 fouls, Johnson had two big blocks on a Vermont possession, hit his two free throw attempts and swished a three. He still needs development but (as it's been stated here before) the instincts and physical tools are there for Theo to become a really game-changing player.
As Wojcik said after the game, thankfully the Cougars have other players who can take over the game. The starting backcourt of Anthony Stitt and Andrew Lawrence finished with 40 points. Stitt continued his case for being the team's best jump shooter with three long balls on four attempts and some nifty floaters. Andrew Lawrence looked like a real NBA prospect. He was driving to the basket, distributing and scoring when he had to and was far and away the best player on the court.
Lawrence really is the key for this team. Stitt has gotten better in recent games at running the offense when Andrew is on the bench, but the captain is the one who routinely delivers when the Cougars need a play.
Next up is a 4pm contest against a struggling Marist team in Poughkeepsie on the 31st. Let's hope the Cougars can finish off 2012 on a high note.
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