Charleston's Second Half Surge Downs Eagles
1/30/2010 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Four College of Charleston players scored in double figures as the Cougars shot 65.4 percent in a strong second half to take a 90-72 win at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Cougars broke a two-game losing streak and improved their record to 14-8, 9-2 in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern fell to 6-17, 3-7 in the league.
Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) had a game high and career-best 26 points to lead the Eagles. Tyler Troupe (Gallatin, Tenn.) pulled down the game-high rebound total with eight. Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) scored 14 points and accounted for eight more baskets with assists.
The Eagles took a 43-40 lead into the locker room at the break, but the Cougars had a 15-4 run to start the second half. Charleston had four treys and added 12 points from the line while Georgia Southern did not make a three in the second period. Andrew Goudelock recovered from his 1-5 shooting in the first half with 20 of his 23 points with seven field goals in the second. The Eagles, a national leader in the steals per game category, had only four, less than one half their normal per-game average.
"We played a great first half, but we have to find a way to put 40 full minutes together on a consistent basis," said Eagles head coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "To their credit, they kept their composure. Goudelock did a great job with ball-handling and scoring duties. He's an NBA prospect and he showed it today."
Controlled play by the Eagles in the first half allowed GSU to hold a six-point lead six minutes into the game, 17-11 before Andrew Lawrence slid into the lane for a layup and "and one" to cut it to three, 17-14, Georgia Southern. The Cougars continued their attack, adding nine more points to fashion a 12-4 Charleston run and 23-21 Cougar lead. Spencer hit a jumper to tie the score at 23 all.
The two teams would knot at 25, 27 and 28 before Spencer connected on a free throw followed by an Antonio Hanson (Ft. Worth, Texas) three-pointer for a 32-28 Georgia Southern lead. Off an assist from Powers, Spencer converted a layup and went to the line and then Powers added a free throw for a 38-31 GSU lead at 4:19 in the first half. Over the final seven minutes, the Eagles had only three field goals with Spencer hitting seven of his nine first-half free throws and posting 17 points by halftime.
Hanson had three three pointers, all in the first half while Powers scored nine of his 14 points in the second period.
Georgia Southern hits the road for Western Carolina on Thursday, February 4th for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Cullowhee then plays at Davidson Satuday, Jan 6th at 7 p.m.
