Stitt steps up as Cougs blast Paladins
Having watched his team lose three out of its last four games, College of Charleston men's basketball coach Bobby Cremins decided to shake things up Saturday for the Cougars' game against Furman.
Cremins moved freshman Anthony Stitt into the starting lineup in place of sophomore Jordan Scott, and Stitt responded in heroic fashion. Stitt played a team-high 37 minutes and shared scoring honors with fellow freshman Adjehi Baru as the Cougars cruised to a 66-43 win at Timmons Arena in Greenville.
The road victory was critical after Thursday's disappointing loss at Wofford. Charleston, which improved to 11-4, is now 3-1 in the Southern Conference and tied with Georgia Southern for second place in the South Division. Davidson leads the South at 4-0 after beating Georgia Southern at home Saturday.
"I wouldn't call it pretty, but it was an important victory," said Cremins, who added that the win would make the Cougars' bus ride back to Charleston on Saturday a lot more enjoyable.
"I'm really, really happy about the win. We had a lot of respect for Furman coming into the game. We got off to a good start and our defense was so much better. (Furman) did not shoot well the first half."
The Cougars were able to break away from Furman in the first half, going from a 6-5 deficit to a 23-10 lead. But Furman managed to cut the margin to eight points at the half, 30-22, and started the second half strong.
The Paladins scored the first five points after the break to pull within three points and were still within four points, 38-34, with 10 1/2 minutes left. A pair of free throws by junior Matt Sundberg, a steal by Antwaine Wiggins and two more free throws by Stitt pushed the Cougars' lead out to eight, and Charleston was on its way to a 23-5 run over the next six minutes that iced the game.
In addition to his 14 points, which came on 6-of-8 shooting from the field (and no 3-pointers on two attempts), Stitt also added two assists. Baru, who was 5 for 7 from the field, scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Wiggins was the only other Cougar in double figures with 10.
Sophomore Trent Wiedeman, who has been hampered by an ankle injury, grabbed six rebounds and had two assists and two blocks but scored only four points.
3-Point Goals -- CofC 3-15 (Wiggins 1-3, Lawrence 1-2, Stitt 0-2, Sundberg 0-3, Johnson 1-3); Furman 4-22 (Irwin 1-4, Brown 0-3, Ch. Reddick 3-7, Loyd 0-1, Austin 0-1, Early 0-6). Steals -- CofC 12 (Wiggins 3); Furman 5 (Austin 3). Blocks -- CofC 2 (Wiedeman 2); Furman 0. Turnovers -- CofC 14 (Wiggins 4); Furman 23 (Austin 6). Technicals -- None.
A--2,101.
Stitt's play Saturday was even more crucial in light of the struggles by junior guard Andrew Lawrence, who picked up two fouls in the first 4:10 of the game and picked up his third early in the second half. Lawrence, who finished with seven points, played only 16 minutes, more than 20 below his average.
Furman owned a big 44-30 rebounding advantage, but the Paladins committed 23 turnovers to Charleston's 14. Charleston also outscored Furman, 30-18, in the paint.
The Cougars' next outing will be Thursday at 8 p.m. against UNC Greensboro (2-14, 0-4) at TD Arena. The Cougars also will be at home Saturday against Elon before traveling to Davidson on Jan. 19 .
Furman travels to Appalachian State Thursday and plays at Western Carolina Saturday.
