Cougars claw out a victory

The win the College of Charleston men's basketball team posted over Winthrop on Tuesday night could be compared to a "W" scrawled by a crayon-wielding kindergartener.

Certainly not a work of art, but a "W" just the same.

"We earned that. We could easily have lost that game," College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins said of the final 69-57 margin over the Eagles before 3,421 at Carolina First Arena.

Charleston led Winthrop by only two points with less than 4 minutes remaining, but scored the final 10 points to break the game open. Andrew Goudelock, the preseason Southern Conference player of the year, scored six of the Cougars' final 10, getting things going with a 3-pointer and ending things with a steal and layup. Tony White Jr. hit a pair of free throws down the stretch and did a good job protecting the ball, and Jeremy Simmons, in his first game back from suspension, grabbed a big rebound and also scored a basket as Charleston evened its record at 1-1.

Goudelock led Charleston with 18 points, including 3 of 9 from the 3-point arc. Simmons scored 14 points and had nine rebounds. White added 11 points and six rebounds, while freshman Willis Hall had 10 points.

Winthrop (1-1) was led by Andre Jones with 11 points and Mantoris Robinson, who had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

"It was great to have Jeremy Simmons back," Cremins said. "His presence obviously made a big difference. But we've got a long way to go. We have no experience on our bench."

And that came into play when 6-8 senior Casaan Breeden got into early foul trouble. Breeden ended up playing only seven minutes and fouled out with 6 minutes left.

"I was so nervous we might not hang in there, but we hung in there and the second half started to play some good basketball," Cremins said. "We took the lead, then we had like six or seven turnovers in the next several minutes. We just got sloppy with the ball. It's something we've got to work on."

The first half was eerily reminiscent of Friday's70-59 loss at Coastal Carolina. The Cougars were outrebounded once again and had a tough time scoring from the 3-point arc, hitting only 4 of 14 first-half attempts.

Simmons, who missed Friday's game after being suspended for violating team rules, was an early bright spot, hitting Charleston's first two field goals. He had six points in the opening half along with five rebounds, but missed all four of his free throw attempts.

Charleston's 3-point shooting turned on at the start of the second half with the Cougars hitting four straight on the way to opening a 44-34 advantage. Charleston eventually went up by 12 before Winthrop responded.

The Eagles pulled within four at 51-47 with 10:31 left and remained only a couple of possessions away from the lead over the next seven minutes, finally cutting Charleston's lead to 59-57 on a dunk by Andre Jones with 3:52 left.

That's when Charleston finally managed to put Winthrop away, starting with Goudelock's third 3-pointer of the game.

"Goudelock really came through, then Tony started doing his thing, taking care of the basketball and getting fouled," Cremins said. "That's how we won last year. Obviously, it's tough on these guards because they know they're going to be keyed on."

The Eagles took 70 shots from the field compared to Charleston's 48. The big difference, Winthrop coach Randy Peele said, was 3-pointers. His team did not make a 3-pointer Tuesday and are 1 for 28 through two games.

"That's a hard pill to swallow," Peele said of the 3-point effort. "(Charleston) made the plays down the stretch."

3-Point Field Goals -- WIN 0-13 (Robinson 0-3, Middleton 0-1, Jones 0-4, Gamble 0-1, Burton 0-1, Dreher 0-3); CofC 9-23 (Breeden 1-1, Monroe 1-2, Goudelock 3-9, White Jr. 1-4, Lawrence 1-2, Pugh 0-1, Hall 2-4). Steals -- WIN 11 (Middleton 4); CofC 2 (Monroe 2). Blocks -- WIN 2 (Buechert, Morgan); CofC 5 (Simmons 4). Turnovers -- WIN 13 (Jones 4); CofC 19 (White Jr. 6). Technicals -- none. A -- 3,421.

Cremins said he could see opponents' scouting reports: Stop the guards and you'll have no problem. He also pointed out that rebounding is a big issue. Winthrop outrebounded Charleston, 41-38, but picked off 20 offensive rebounds to Charleston's nine.

He promised plenty of work during the team's lengthy upcoming break. Charleston has a week off before a two-game road swing to Tennessee where the Cougars face East Tennessee State on Nov. 25, and two days later are in Knoxville to play the Volunteers.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Cremins said. "I think the team learned a lot. We've got our hands full."