Reyne Smith & Frankie Policelli Lead Cougs With 15 Apiece, Charleston Remain In First Place in CAA

Jeff Walker, Sports Writer

After being held to 25 first half points, the College of Charleston men's basketball team erupt for 40 after intermission enroute to a 65-57 win over William & Mary at TD Arena Monday night. CofC earn their fifth straight win which oddly enough began against the same William & Mary team back on February 3rd.

The Cougars improve to 20-7 overall and remain in first place in the CAA with an 11-3 record in conference play. After losing by just a single point (84-83) to Charleston a couple weeks ago the Tribe fall to 8-19 and 3-11 CAA.

Reyne Smith and Frankie Policelli lead the home team finishing with 15 apiece, accounting for five of Charleston's seven made 3-pointers. Kobe Rodgers shot 5 of 8 from the floor to chip in 12 points for the Cougars. Big man Ante Brzovic missed out on a double double ending with nine points to go along with a game best 12 rebounds.

Two stats Charleston usually excel in were put to the test Monday night. Despite finishing with 11 offensive boards, in the first 20 minutes of play they didn't haul in any. A team that prides itself in bench points ended up with just seven against a strong defensive front from William & Mary.

CofC Head Coach Pat Kelsey admitted it was a grind. "Good teams can win in different ways. It was really ugly early on, but we found a way to win. It was a total team effort."

When Smith popped a triple two minutes into the contest CofC went up 7-2 and appeared to be in position to take charge. But the Cougars got lethargic. After trailing 9-6 the visitors put together a 10-0 run leaving Charleston scoreless for over five minutes.

A long ball by Sean Houpt gave William & Mary their biggest lead (25-17) of the night before eight unanswered by the Cougars tied the contest. Tai Hamilton would add one of two from the line as The Tribe took a 26-25 advantage into the locker room.

CofC started period number two on a 10-2 run, enjoying a 35-28 lead with 17:37 remaining on the clock. Four minutes later a layup by Brzovic would extend the lead to nine (40-31) as William & Mary were in a slump offensively, scoring just five points in over six minutes of action.

A missile by Jordan Crawford gave the home team the first of four 10 point leads at the 11:55 mark. A pair of free throws by Brzovic with just over eight minutes left provided a 47-37 lead. William & Mary would cut the margin to three on a pair from Gabe Dorsey with 4:32 on the scoreboard.

But CofC kept their cool with Smith making two from the line with 54 seconds remaining for the last 10 point margin. He added two more with 29 ticks on the clock as The Tribe had no answer with time running out. Smith finished 9 of 9 from the charity stripe as Charleston added 22 of 31 from the line.

Trey Moss went 6 of 10 for William & Mary to lead all scorers with 16 points. Dorsey would finish with 13 points. The normally explosive Chase Lowe was held to 12 points, while leading his team with seven rebounds. The Tribe outscored the Cougars 12-7 off the bench.

Being held in check in the first 20 minutes of action, Coach Kelsey admitted his players found their game in after the break. "We have a mature team. We absolutely dominated on the offensive glass in the second half (11 boards)." Coach added, "Frankie stepped up. Bryce Butler didn't have his best offensive game but his leadership was was important."

The Cougars will travel to the Mid-Atlantic for a two-game road trip at Delaware and Towson. Charleston will face the Blue Hens on Thursday, February 22 followed by a bout with the Tigers on February 24.