
Tavarez Thirty Point Frenzy Leads Cougars Past Ramblers
Charleston Take on Charlotte in a Christmas Day Contest, Set For 3:30pm EST
CofC Sports Media
HONOLULU, HI – Deywilk Tavarez dropped a season-high thirty points to help lead Charleston to a 77-68 win over Loyola Chicago at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
The Cougars took an early 7-4 lead at the first media timeout, paced by Derrin Boyd with three points, one steal, and an assist in the opening four minutes.
Charleston held Loyola Chicago 0-4 from the field before falling cold themselves, going 1-7. The Ramblers outrebounded the Cougars 16-5 during the stretch to maintain a three-point lead at 19-16 with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
Charleston fell behind by as much as eight before Tavarez broke a three-minute Cougar scoring drought on a corner three and sank two free throws to bring Charleston back within four at 25-21.
After falling behind by ten, Charleston went 5-5 from the field behind four straight Tavarez threes including one at the buzzer to put the Cougars up 37-34 entering the half. The sophomore surpassed his previous Charleston high with 20 points in the frame.
Tavarez opened the second half with back-to-back threes, his six and seventh of the game. The Ramblers went on a 6-0 run to tie it at 42-42 before Charleston held Loyola Chicago scoreless from the field for over four minutes. Djordje Curcic and Boyd provided big offense down the stretch, including a 8-0 run capped off by a Boyd three.
Charleston took their largest lead of the game thus far at 67-59 with five minutes to play. Another 6-0 Cougar run and four Loyola Chicago turnovers in the final three minutes sealed the win for Charleston.
The Cougars, now 9-3, will play Charlotte on Christmas Day. Charlotte got by Murray State in double overtime. The contest is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. est.
To keep up the Cougars schedule for the season visit https://cofcsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule