Cougars Dispatch Howard, But Leave Us Wanting More

Final Score: College of Charleston 60, Howard 50
Top Performers:
Willis Hall 18 pts, 17 rebs
Prince Okoroh 27 pts (9-25 FG)
Adjehi Baru 12 pts, 10 rebs, 2 blks

Facing another NCAA bottom-dwellar at home, the Cougars again fell victim to playing down to the level of the competition. Leading Howard by as many as 19 in the first half, CofC went on another patented offensive nap to start the second that saw the Bison close the gap to as little as five points. It took another monster game from Willis Hall, a double-double from Baru and two consecutive three balls by Joe Chealey to save CofC from another embarrassment at home. On the other side of the coin however - a win is a win and the Cougars are just a game behind Towson for best record heading into CAA play.

Howard, playing a lineup of mostly freshmen, was able to get back into this game behind the efforts of forward Prince Okoroh and their 2-3 zone defense. Okoroh was inefficient on the night, needing almost half his teams shot attempts to get his 27 points, but he went on a prolonged hot streak to start the second that saw Howard claw back into the game while the Cougs struggled to score.

The 2-3 zone defense continues to be a thorn in CofC's side as long as they continue to struggle to score on jump shots. As soon as Baru, Hall or Wishon gets the ball down low the defense collapses, and when they pass back out the guards need to burn the opponents by drilling an open trey. Nori in the first half and Chealey in the second half were able to provide some balance but the team still looked out of sorts on multiple possessions passing the ball around the perimeter. The Cougars tend to turn the ball over when they get crowded and when they do pass out of double teams, the inability for players to make an open jumper hurts them.

Luckily for the Cougars they still have one of the best forward tandems in the league to fall back on. Willis turned in a third straight awe-inspiring game and should very deservedly repeat as CAA Player of the Week. Adjehi decided to join the party as well. He wasn't even able to attempt a shot in the first half with the Bison harassing him in the paint but he was able to get to the line in the 2nd and hit enough free throws to give him his own 12-10 game.

While these performances are great, this was a golden opportunity for CofC to runaway early and never look back. Shortly before the game we learned that Canyon Barry could miss as much as a month with a finger injury on his shooting hand and the team needs to develop some depth. Taking their foot off the gas pedal and allowing Howard to get back into the game prevented them from getting quality minutes from guys like Burroughs-Cook, Theo Johnson or Terrance O'Donohue.

If there's one thing the Cougars will get out of this it's that they need to work on penetrating the zone - because CAA teams will use it. Right now Willis is the only player who can hit a shot from the elbow in the cavity of the zone so the focus should be on passing the ball out of trouble as soon as they recognize the defense. CAA play is here and it's time to show up and blow up.