CofC Remain Unbeaten at Home, Down ODU 75-60

Less than two weeks after they took part in the annual ESPN Charleston Classic the Monarchs of Old Dominion University returned to the Holy City to do battle against the College of Charleston men’s basketball team. Riding a high the Cougars entered the contest with a 6-1 record with their only loss coming on the road to former No# 1 ranked North Carolina. The Cougars and the Monarchs have met three times over the years with CofC prevailing every time.

Over seven games early in the season Old Dominion carried a 4-3 record to the low country, having gone 1-2 in the Charleston Classic. On the line, the Cougars were trying to remain unbeaten at TD Arena, and continue to garner votes in both the AP and USA Today weekly polls. Prior to tip-off CofC was off to their best start since they went 12-1 to open the 2011-12 campaign.

Oddsmakers had the Cougars favored heading into the match-up, and they were dead on, as Charleston outpaced their visitors in the second half by 14 points cruising to a 75-60 win over ODU. Ryan Larson went 6 of 9 from the field including 3 of 4 from long range to lead CofC with 17 points. Chaunce Jenkins went 3 of 3 from beyond the arc to match Larson with 17 points for the Monarchs. The Cougars improve to 7-1 on the season with ODU falling to 4-4 overall.

After giving up a double digit lead early in the contest and only up by one at the half, Larson said the team refocused during the break. “Coach talked about keep track of our passes. We put an emphasis on sharing the ball on offense, doing a little more screening for each other. And defensively, just locking into what we do, our system, and disrupting their offense as best we could.”

Three from the line from Dalton Bolon followed by back to back three 3-pointers from Reyne Smith found Charleston out in front 12-0 inside the first four minutes of play. But the Monarchs figured out how to pump the brakes getting behind a 17-8 run to trail by just three.

Despite their best efforts CofC allowed ODU to tie the contest two times, with the Monarchs taking their first lead (29-28) with 2:55 on the clock. The Cougars would trail by three before a late surge capped off by a buzzer beating layup by Pat Robinson III provided the home team with a 32-31 lead at the break.

CofC Head Coach Pat Kelsey said they had to tweak some things in the locker room. “We do what everybody does at the half. We meet as a staff for three or four minutes and talk about what’s going well and what’s not going well. We address it and make adjustments. He added, “Our second half defense was phenomenal.”

It was all CofC after intermission. Reyne Smith knocked down a trey to jumpstart the second period. Bolon’s second missile put Charleston up 44-33 with just under 16 minutes to play. Bolon’s final long range shot capped off a 30-12 spurt with CofC enjoying a comfortable 62-43 with 7:11 remaining.

An old fashioned 3-point play by Jaylon Scott gave the Cougars their biggest lead 68-45 with less than five minutes on the clock. It was too little too late for the Monarchs as they ran out of steam in the final minutes. A 3-pointer by Bryce Baker with 13 seconds to go cut the lead to 15, as CofC embraced another stellar home court win, staying unscathed at TD Arena and winning their sixth straight.

Bolon would finish with 14 points with Smith going 4 of 7 from beyond the arc for 12 points. Tyreek Scott-Grayson chipped in 13 points for the Monarchs. The final stats were pretty close with CofC having a slight rebounding advantage and knocking down twice as many 3-pointers (10-5) which was the difference in the score.

Charleston renew a long overdue crosstown rivalry this weekend as they will make the short trip to face The Citadel on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1pm at the Citadel Fieldhouse.

Coach Kelsey is pumped for the renewed contest. “I love it. I say our city all the time. But it’s both our city. The Citadel is a tradition rich institution. Cross town rivalries are awesome. I grew up in Cincinnati. So you had Xavier and UC and there were houses divided. Rivalries are what college sports are all about. I’m looking forward to it.”