Cremins dealing with season's highs and lows

College of Charleston basketball coach Bobby Cremins has seen the best and worst of his team in a two-game span, and that leaves him uncertain what to expect tonight when the Cougars play at Western Carolina.

"I knew when I got back into coaching that there would be highs and lows," Cremins said.

He just didn't know the highs and the lows would come two days apart.

On Thursday, the Cougars shot 67.7 percent from the field and 13 for 22 from 3-point range while leading 55-37 at the half en route to an 89-73 victory over UNC Greensboro. Charleston connected on a school-record 12 3-pointers in the first half.

In a nightmarish 59-53 loss to Elon on Saturday, the Cougars trailed 28-8 at halftime after missing 19 of 22 shots, including all nine 3-pointers attempted.

"We still can't believe it when we think about it," said Charleston guard Andrew Goudelock. "We couldn't miss a shot on Thursday and we couldn't make one on Saturday. It happens. It's basketball, it's part of the game. You can't do anything about it. You've got to keep moving forward and try to learn from it. They were shots that we normally make, they just weren't falling for us. This road trip is important and there's a lot of basketball left."

Charleston (16-5, 8-3 Southern Conference) has now lost two of its last three games. The Cougars dropped a 72-63 decision to The Citadel on Jan. 24.

And it doesn't get any easier after tonight's 7 p.m. game against the Catamounts (11-10, 6-5 SoCon). The Cougars play at Davidson on Saturday.

"We're not playing as well as we did early on," Cremins said. "I can't pinpoint it. We're bruised right now. And we've got to go on a tough road trip. I've coached a lot of years, and what I witnessed Saturday afternoon. ... I really thought we were going to break an NCAA record for least points scored in a half."

The Catamounts (11-10, 6-5 SoCon) are coming off an 89-65 loss at Davidson, but they have been particularly tough at home.

Western Carolina is 7-1 at home and has won five consecutive home games.

"Other than Davidson, it's a very balanced league and Western Carolina is no exception," Cremins said. "There are no easy games."