Cougars drop exhibition to D-II power

Augusta State 65, College of Charleston 63

College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins is still learning about his young Cougars' basketball team, but he found out all he needed to know about Augusta State on Thursday night.

"They're a good basketball team," Cremins said after the Jaguars beat the Cougars 65-63 in an exhibition game at John Kresse Arena. "We wanted to play a good team, and they're a good team. I wanted our team to be challenged tonight."

Augusta State, a Division II squad, returns all five starters from a team that finished 24-7 last season. The Jaguars dominated Charleston inside, but won it on a 3-pointer by Ben Madegan with 7.3 seconds to play.

Charleston point guard Tony White Jr., who led the Cougars with 18 points, missed a rushed 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Cougars had a hard time stopping Garret Siler, Augusta State's 6-11, 305-pound center. Siler finished with 24 points on 10 of 11 shooting from the field.

Rebounds were close, with the Jaguars outrebounding the Cougars, 44-41. Both teams had turnover problems; Augusta State finished with 17 and the Cougars with 18.

Meanwhile, the Cougars got most of their offense from the perimeter.

In addition to White's 18 points, the Cougars got 17 points from freshman guard Andrew Goudelock and 13 from freshman small forward Antwaine Wiggins.

"We're really more of a balanced team than we showed tonight," said White Jr., who scored nine of his points in the first 1:45. "We just had a hard time getting the ball inside against their big guys."

Charleston post players Jermaine Johnson and Dustin Scott combined for 11 points on four of 13 shooting from the field.

"We were out of sync offensively early on," Cremins said. "I saw a lot of things we could really work on. The real games start a week from Saturday. That's what's important to us."

The Cougars open the season Nov. 10 at UNC Wilmington.