CofC Test No. 1 UNC Before Falling 102-86

Four days after taking down Southern Conference defending champs Chattanooga 85-78 in their season opener, the College of Charleston men’s basketball team had the formidable task of travelling to Chapel Hill to take on nationally ranked and the preseason No# 1, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels Friday night. Despite their storied history CofC are 3-6 against UNC, having won two contests during the John Kresse years and another when Bobby Cremins walked the Cougar sideline.

Over the past quarter century Charleston has often taken on the roll as David, slaying many Division I Goliaths. In their 2021 matchup the Cougars trailed by a single point with just over six minutes to play at TD Arena before the then 18th ranked Tar Heels pulled away for a 94-83 victory. Going on the road to play in Dean Smith Arena is even more daunting.

It was a tale of two halves for CofC. After lighting up the scoreboard for 50 first half points including 6 of 14 from long range, the Cougars could only manage to score 36 in final 20 minutes of play, connecting on just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. When it was all said and done Friday night Charleston surrendered a seven point half time lead, falling 102-86 to UNC.

After scoring 14 points for the Cougars before intermission, Dalton Bolon finished with a team best 16 points, as the Tar Heels kept the pure shooting guard in check after the break. Despite the loss there were a few bright spots as Charleston got 55 points from the bench with Ante Brzovic going 6 of 8 from the floor, adding three long bombs for 15 points. Pat Robinson and Raekwon Horton added 14 and 10 respectively. All three point totals are career bests in a Cougar uniform.

Reyne Smith who led the Charleston with 22 points on Monday night was held to just 3 points on 1 of 4 from the field. With the loss the Cougars fall to 1-1 on the young season.

It appeared the Cougars would be playing catch up early on, shooting 2 of 11 with both buckets coming from Bolon. But the visitors found some game. Back to back threes by Bolon and Ben Burnham (9pts) put CofC up 17-14 near the 13 minute mark. Smith’s lone 3-pointer gave the Cougars their biggest lead (29-21) with just over eight minutes left in the opening period. Charleston would hold on to a 50-43 margin heading into the locker room.

However, it was a tale of two halves for UNC as well. The home team shot 72 percent (20-28) from the floor in the second period with just 1 of 7 coming from downtown. They made up the difference on second chance points and with free throws, adding 18 of 23 from the foul line. In the end it was their size and physicality that lead the top ranked team victory.

Unlike Charleston, UNC got 86 points out of their starting five with Armando Bacot and Caleb Love leading the way with 28 and 25 apiece. Leaky Black who’s not normally a scorer went 6 of 6 finishing with 15 points, with RJ Davis adding 11 points. With the win the Tar Heels improve to 2-0 overall.