Despite Loss Reyne Smith Goes Over 1000 Pts. In His Career at Charleston

Jeff Walker, Sports Writer

The College of Charleston men's basketball team's current winning streak comes to an end, as they return home falling to UNC Wilmington 80-74 before a raucous sell out crowd at TD Arena. The Cougars last loss was to the very same Seahawks on their home court a couple of weeks ago. With the defeat CofC fall to 15-7 overall and move to 6-3 midway thru the CAA conference.

With UNCW improving to 15-6 on the season and 6-3 in league play, both teams are basically tied for third with the Seahawks holding the advantage after winning both head to head matches. Drexel and Towson currently top the conference leader board.

The Cougars had four players finish in double figures with Kobe Rodgers coming in off the bench to provide a spark and lead the team with 20 points including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. Reyne Smith's 18 points (4 of 11 from long range) helped the junior guard surpass the 1000 point total for his career with Charleston. Big men Ben Burnham and Ante Brzovic added 11 and 10 respectively for the Cougars. Frankie Policelli lead the team in rebounding, hauling in nine boards.

After losing 78-69 just 12 days ago at UNCW, CofC Head Coach Pat Kelsey and fans were hoping for a different outcome, but Kelsey admitted Cougar faithful did their job. "It's disappointing, disappointing. A lot of build up, anticipation for this game. Everything we asked from the fan base and the student body they did tonight. They did their job. The atmosphere was awesome."

In what can only be described as a very physical game resulted in no scoring for the first two and half minutes, as poor shots and shot clock violations took front and center. Brzovic broke the ice when he scored from under the basket. Seven unanswered including Smith's first long ball soon made it 9-2 in favor of Charleston.

With both teams eager for a victory, and to keep pace in the league standings, the matchup was more like a title fight, with each squad landing blow after blow. The score would be tied nine times before a missile by Rodgers provided Charleston a narrow three point (37-34) margin heading into the break.

Despite CofC extending their lead to eight (44-36) the battle continued in the second half. Six minutes into the period the Cougars still held onto a one possession advantage, as the offensive pace was about to kick into gear.  An old fashioned three point play (shot plus FT) by Trazarien White gave the Seahawks their first lead (59-58) of the contest since late in the first half, with 8:55 remaining.

A long ball by Burnham would put the home team back on top. The score would be tied a couple of times, the last at 4:53 (66 all) before UNCW executed a winning game plan that forced the Cougars to foul, with the Seahawks connecting on 7 of 8 in the final two minutes of play as they cruised to a six point win.

The stats that normally propel CofC to victory didn't happen, as they were out-rebounded 42-39 allowing for a 15 to 10 advantage on second chance points. The Seahawks out-paced the Cougars 11 to 2 on points due to turnovers.

White lead four players in double figures for the Seahawks, as he ended with a game high 25 points. Shykeim Phillips added 15 points, with Donovan Newby and Nolan Hodge chipping in 11 apiece. UNCW improve to 15-6 on the season and 6-3 in the CAA.

Smith said he and the players will move on but hopefully take something from the loss. "I think it just came down to the toughness. In the end it's frustrating and we just have to learn from it." Smith offered up it's all about getting better as they look to the season ending tournament. "That's what we have to keep our focus on, getting better is the key, for those three games in Washington DC."

Coach Kelsey gave the opposing team their just due. "I give UNCW credit. That's a good team. They're a veteran team. They have a ton of their team back from last year. Offensively they are very efficient." He added it all came down to a few things defensively. "They are difficult to defend. For the most part I thought we did a pretty good job of defending the first shot. What we did a poor job of was letting them get second opportunities."

The Cougars have a quick turn around as the travel to take on William & Mary in a 2pm matchup on Saturday afternoon. At 8-14 overall and 3-6 in the conference, the Tribe are coming off an embarrassing 81-53 defeat at home against Delaware.