Cougs can't keep up

RICHMOND, VA. -- For the second straight year, the College of Charleston men's basketball team ended its season in the second round of the College Basketball Invitational in the same city.

The Cougars, who lost by two points last year to Richmond, lost to Virginia Commonwealth, 93-86, before a crowd of 3,297 at Verizon Wireless Arena.

After trailing by 17 points in the second half, the Cougars rallied to close the margin to, 50-49. But Charleston could not get over the hump, and the Rams quickly moved back out to an eight-point advantage and eventually went back up by 15 to put the game away.

Charleston managed to rally in the final minute with four 3-pointers to cut the margin to seven points at the end.

"I think we had a good year, not a great year, but a very good year," said Cougars coach Bobby Cremins, whose team went 22-12 this season.

Cremins added that he felt the Cougars have accomplished a lot in his four years at Charleston. He asked Cougars fans for patience and promised he and his staff would spend a lot of time looking at all aspects of the program in the offseason.

Charleston led much of the first half, going up by as many as seven points, before Brandon Rozzell ignited the Rams. Rozzell scored 11 unanswered points to take Virginia Commonwealth from a 25-19 deficit to a 30-25 lead.

The Rams weren't through, either, as they added seven more points before Matt Sundberg ended a lengthy Charleston scoring drought with a 3-pointer.

Charleston was able to close within seven points and trailed by eight at the half, 42-34, and started the second half with a 15-8 run before VCU regained control of the game and won for the 16th time in 17 home games this season.

VCU improved to 24-9. The Rams were led by 6-11 junior Larry Sanders, who scored 14 points, had 17 rebounds and blocked four shots. Rozzell had 20 points and Jamie Skeen scored 18.

Charleston senior guard Tony White ended his career with a game-high 24 points, along with six rebounds and five assists. Andrew Goudelock had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jeremy Simmons scored 16 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, while Sundberg, a sophomore, hit 4 of 5 3-pointers and scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.

"Tony really played well," Cremins said. "I can't say enough about Tony White. He's done a great job for four years. It makes me feel good he went out scoring 24 points. He's a wonderful young man."

The Post and Courier's Tommy Braswell compiled this report. He can be reached at braswell@postandcourier.com.