Cougars Embarrassed at Home, Lose to Formerly Winless Marist

Final Score: Marist 69, College of Charleston 62
Top Performers:
Willis Hall 19 points, 11 rebounds
Chavaughn Lewis 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals

Full disclosure - I was unable to watch this game live due to familial travel obligations so I'm mostly going off the boxscore and what I've overheard on the web so far. Regardless, this is a pathetic loss at home for the Cougars. As if losing to UNC Asheville wasn't bad enough, Marist (0-9 on the season prior to today) was able to build a 15-point halftime lead and withstand a Willis Hall-fueled comeback to win their first game of the season.

Once again the Cougars were unable to put the ball in the basket, shooting under 40% from the field and just 22% from three. As has been the case in most losses this season, last year's stout defense also took the night off as Marist shot nearly 50% from the floor (much higher in the first half) and 47% from outside the arc. I can't say why exactly the defense was so porous having not seen the film but it probably had something to do with slow rotations and closeouts. The Cougars actually did well to significantly out rebound the Red Foxes (expected) and make their free throws (pleasant surprise) but it was the inability to hit shots and 15 team turnovers that negated any positive improvements the Cougars made in those two areas.

Down double digits in the second half, Willis Hall became fed up with his team's performance and went on a tear of 7 straight points to spearhead a 16-5 run that cut the deficit to just 2 points. But in the final minutes, Marist was able to make more shots than CofC and the Red Foxes walked away with a rare victory.

On any night the Cougars can either look like a legit contender or clear bottom-feeder in the CAA. I'm not buying the idea that they'll finish as a bottom three team in the conference but right now we look like a middle of the pack team despite what I would consider an advantage in talent. The main problem is that the Cougars cannot consistently make shots. It was a big problem last year but at least the defense could bail us out on occasion. What the coaching staff needs to do is figure out a way to get points when Baru is double teamed and the jump shots aren't falling. Barry, Chealey and Stitt are all capable of driving to the basket. The team has a number of guys who can play up-tempo. Somehow, someway the team needs to consistently produce offense, not when their backs are against the wall and not when they're cruising to a double digit victory. Until then it's going to be more of these low-scoring losses, no matter how easy the schedule looks on paper.