Cougars top Aiken in preseason tuneup

The College of Charleston men's basketball team got a little more than they wanted but emerged with a 94-92 overtime win over USC Aiken in an exhibition game played before 2,008 at Carolina First Arena. Senior guard Tony White Jr. banked in a shot from just beyond the foul line with 1.6 seconds left to seal the win. White led the Cougars with 24 points, including a perfect 11 for 11 from the free throw line.

The College of Charleston women breezed to a 66-44 win over USC Aiken in the second exhibition game of the evening. Senior Diedra Jones led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

"We knew they'd come in fired up," College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins said of the Pacers, who made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago. "It was a fun exhibition game because USC Aiken played great."

Cremins said the contest was an important learning experience for the Cougars, who have been picked to win the Southern Conference's South Division. And the team will have plenty to work on before next Friday's regular-season opener at Coastal Carolina. Cremins said the team will work against pressure, free throw rebounding and getting the ball inside more.

Casaan Breeden, a 6-8 senior transfer from Florida State, was a force, scoring 16 points (5 of 6 from the field, including 2 for 2 from 3-point range) and adding a team-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Willis Hall, who got the start in place of suspended Jeremy Simmons, also played well, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Sophomore Quasim Pugh added eight points, while 6-9 freshman Rashad Wright scored four points and had a block and freshman guard Andrew Lawrence scored two points.

Cremins said he had to be careful about playing Donavan Monroe and Andrew Goudelock too much because of groin injuries, but Monroe scored nine points in 21 minutes while Goudelock scored 14 points in 32 minutes.

Aiken got 35 points from guard Byron Faison and 23 from guard Re'mon Nelson.

MEN'S GAME

CHARLESTON 94, USC AIKEN 92, OT

USC AIKEN (92): Flowers 6, Byron Faison 35, Re'mon Nelson 23, Leonard 3, Brown 8, Michael Technow 17.

CHARLESTON (94): Casaan Breeden 16, Willis Hall 17, Monroe 9, Andrew Goudelock 14, Tony White Jr. 24, Lawrence 2, Wright 4, Pugh 8.

Halftime: Charleston 43, USC Aiken 38.

Regulation: Charleston 85, USC Aiken 85.

WOMEN'S GAME

CHARLESTON 66, USC AIKEN 44

USC AIKEN (44): Hannah DeGraffinreed 19, Schirmer 1, Cain 2, Nakia Pinkney 13, Harris 4, Norman 2, Sundberg 3.

CHARLESTON (66): Brooke Kotcella 11, Diedra Jones 16, Hughes 9, Mudd 3, Gerty 5, King 2, Williams 6, Hardy 2, Fischer 8, Davie 2, McLaurin 2.