CofC Edge VT  77-75 to Earn Charleston Classic Championship

For the second time in less than 10 days the College of Charleston men’s basketball team faced off against a formidable foe from the ACC. While CofC held their own for over 30 minutes against North Carolina before falling 102-86 to the Tar Heels, it was a different contest all together when the 4-1 Cougars took on undefeated Virginia Tech (5-0) in the championship game of the annual ESPN Charleston Classic Sunday afternoon.

Due to ESPN rules, Charleston can only take part every fourth year, with 2022 being their fourth time in the tournament, however unlike other appearances this is the first time CofC outlasted other teams on Thursday and Friday to make it to the finals. With a national ESPN audience watching the Cougars and the Hokies did battle for 40 minutes with the game being decided in the final seconds.

If CofC fans were looking for an edge of your seat, epic nail-biter than the matchup with Virginia Tech proved just the right ticket. With the contest knotted at 75 all with just over 30 seconds left to play, the Cougars called a timeout to set up a play. After 27 seconds erased off the clock Pat Robinson III drove the lane to to put Charleston up by two. With three seconds to work with the Hokies fired from near mid court only to come up empty providing CofC a 77-75 victory in their first ever Charleston Classic final.

With no one really taking control in the first 20 minutes of play, Robinson who had four points at the break, stepped on the gas when big plays were needed, including the game winner. CofC Head Coach who admits he’s 10 deep including his starting five and the bench said he had confidence in Robinson. “When he gets going that basket looks like the ocean. We worked on that play in the shoot around this morning. When he gets going with his left hand, he can score with the best of them.”

The Cougars fell behind 4-0 right out of the gate before Dalton Bolon managed to work himself underneath to provide CofC their first bucket. When Ryan Larson hit his first of two from long range the Cougars took their first lead at 7-6. Ben Burnham came in off the bench providing a quick spark. His four points allowed Charleston to go up 11-8 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the opening period.

A layup by Babacar Faye at the 8:41 mark gave the Cougars a 13 point (25-12) advantage. But Virginia Tech didn’t come to town to go away quietly. A 14-2 run by the Hokies made it a one possession contest. Charleston answered with their own 8-0 run before taking a narrow 35-30 lead into the locker room.

The pace picked up dramatically in the second half. When VT connected on back to back treys they took a slim 43-40 lead. The Hokies would enjoy a one or two possession lead for the better part of nine minutes, up by as many as eight (61-53) with 8:17 remaining. A little over three and a half minutes later a short jumper by Robinson knotted the game at 66 all. The contest would be tied four more times before Robinson’s last second heroics.

Robinson would finish with 14 points, going 7 of 9 from the floor. Ante Brzovic who was a beast under the net, turned matched his career best in a Cougar uniform, leading Charleston with 15 points including three clutch baskets from beyond the arc. Faye once again lead the Cougars in rebounding hauling in eight boards.

Larson and Reyne Smith added 12 and 10 points apiece for the Cougars who move to 5-1 overall with a perfect 5-0 record at TD Arena. Averaging over 14 points per game in the classic, Larson was named the Charleston Classic MVP.

Virginia Tech finished with four players in double figures with Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla each scoring a game high 17 points. Cattoor chalked up three of VT’s six treys. Justyn Mutts and Grant Basile added 16 and 12 points respectively. With the loss the Hokies fall to 5-1 on the season.

Although technically not a home game for the Cougars, Coach Kelsey saw it from a different perspective. “The story of tonight is the atmosphere of the game. It was electric. That’s the dream. That’s the vision. It was like that for the Carolina game last year here.”

Kelsey added with so many scoring weapons at the team’s disposal and the home town fans cheering the players on, it’s a double bonus. “The plays that these guys made and the energy the crowd gave us it was electric. Let’s be honest, we had the advantage. The crowd was like the sixth man for us.”

This season, Coach Kelsey’s program has only played teams that participated in the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament going 5-1 in less than two weeks, with the road trip to North Carolina their only loss. With very little time to prepare the Cougars host Kent State 6pm Wednesday night. “They are a really, really good and tough team. So no rest for the weary.” It appears the magic has returned to the College of Charleston men’s basketball team.