Cougars Move to 2-0 with First Road Win

The announced crowd of just over 600 at Alumni Gym in Annapolis

Final Score: College of Charleston 72, Navy 58
Top Performers:
Canyon Barry 22 pts (2-6 3pt, 8-9 FT), 2 blks, 1 stl
Shawn Anderson 21 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts

Before a nearly empty Alumni Gym crowd, the young and developing Charleston Cougars shook off a slow start to pull away from Navy. They were able to do so in front of a raucous Cougar road crew who may have outnumbered home team fans.

One of those in attendance was myself, there to catch my first glimpse of this year's intriguing squad in person.

Things started off on a familiar note - one that brought up bad memories of the Doug Wojcik era on the grounds where the former CofC head coach cut his teeth as a collegiate athlete. The Cougars were unable to score until the Midshipmen had put together an 11 point run of their own. The past two years would see this double-digit lead as nearly insurmountable as the archaic CofC offense would struggle to produce a run of its own.

Luckily for us fans, this Cougar squad has yet to demonstrate such tendencies (a fluffier schedule this season has helped). A line change from Earl Grant pumped some fresh legs into the lineup and Evan Bailey, James Bourne and Marquise Pointer helped steady the ship with defense and timely shooting.

The Cougars would go up on the strength of their bench, as Barry and CofC's forwards struggled with foul trouble early, and built a comfortable lead. Best of all, when Navy made a mini run of their own late in the contest, the Cougars did the opposite of what they were so prone to last year and put this game away. A trifecta of daggers from Canyon Barry (driving layup +1) and Cam Johnson (back-to-back treys) allowed Charleston to cruise out of Naptown with a "W".

A few other assorted notes from this one:

• King Kresse the Amateur Body Language Expert sees a vast improvement in unspoken cues from this team versus last year. Again, winning against lower-tier D1 teams will give any group the warm and fuzzies, but the regularity of encouraging gestures, bench celebrations and player-coach contact is starting to mirror Coach Grant's positive personality.
• CofC was not fazed at all by the full court press that Navy threw at them often. Kudos to O'Donohue, Brantley and Hulsey for not being forced into poor decisions and moving the ball.
• Fouls were again an issue and it's likely to continue to be one for this young team. Navy earned 24 of their 58 points at the line and Charleston had six players collect 3 or more personals.
• Mostly liked what I saw at of freshman Marquise Pointer. He probably should not be taking the second most shots on the team, but he deserves credit for getting the Cougars back into the game with his penetration, passing and shot making. He also might have the tightest handles of anyone on the team.
• Barry was limited by foul trouble, but found enough time on the court to have an impact. He had some nice drives to the hoop once the Cougars broke the press (including a ferocious dunk in the 2nd half) and hit his free throws when he met contact.
• Still don't know exactly what role is ideally suited for Cam Johnson, but it might not matter because he's a baller. The injuries to Chealey and Riller make it tougher to assess how his skills would translate with guard duties split, but he's been the team's 2nd best player these first two games. Last night he played great man-to-man defense, shot over 50% from the floor, grabbed six boards (2nd best on the team) and hit the aforementioned backbreaking threes to secure the win. Will be interesting to see how his game matures over the season.

Next up for the Cougs is a tough one; this Saturday against Davidson. It's my annual opportunity to watch replays of Antwaine Wiggins blocking Steph Curry at the buzzer.