CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The College of Charleston (6-6, 0-0 CAA) defeated The Citadel (3-9, 0-0 SoCon) 82-78 on Wednesday night at TD Arena.
Braxton Williams scored a season-high 24 points to lead The Citadel, knocking down six three-pointers. Williams hit four triples in the opening seven minutes as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead behind strong perimeter shooting.
The Citadel opened the game on a 15-7 run and extended its advantage to 33-17 with 6:44 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs finished the opening period with seven three-pointers and carried a 36-35 lead into halftime after College of Charleston closed the half on an 18-3 run.
The Cougars tied the game at 45 with 16:16 remaining in the second half and later took a 55-50 lead at the 13:25 mark. The Citadel answered to tie the game at 64 on a
Logan Applegate three-pointer with 5:59 left and again at 66 on a
Dante Kearse tip-in with 4:57 remaining before moving in front 68-66 on a Williams layup at the 4:22 mark. The Cougars responded with consecutive three-pointers to regain the lead at 72-68 with 3:02 remaining.
Christian Moore's layup with 16 seconds left trimmed the deficit to 77-75, but College of Charleston made five free throws over the final 16 seconds to secure the outcome. Applegate converted a three-pointer with one second remaining to set the final score.
Following the game, head coach
Ed Conroy commented on the result.
"I thought it was a good, hard-fought game," Conroy said. "We had a good scheme and a good plan and made things difficult at times, but too many trips to the free-throw line were the difference. We took 24 more shots than they did, but too many trips to the free-throw line hurt us, and once the fouls added up early in the second half, it became difficult to play from there.Foul trouble affected how we were able to manage things, but we have enough ability. It's up to all of us to continue to bring it out, and I think this team will keep growing as we move into conference play."
KEY NOTES
- The Citadel shot 29-of-68 from the field and 14-of-37 from three-point range, finishing with 16 assists and 38 rebounds
- Braxton Williams scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting and went 6-of-12 from three-point range in 35 minutes
- Christian Moore totaled 19 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 7-of-19 from the field
- Logan Applegate finished with 12 points on four made three-pointers
- Carter Kingsbury recorded a career-high six assists, one game after posting a career-high point total against South Carolina.
- College of Charleston shot 22-of-44 from the field and 7-of-24 from three-point range with 14 assists and 33 rebounds
- The Cougars made 31 free throws on 41 attempts and recorded six blocks
