Reyne Smith Leads Four Cougars In Double Figures, CofC Win Streak Moves to Seven

Jeff Walker, Sports Writer

Coming off their first win in CAA play, a 73-61 decision over Hofstra on Thursday, the College of Charleston men's basketball team rolled into Stony Brook Saturday, hoping to go 2-0 in the conference, and secure their seventh win in a row. Down by seven at the break, the Cougars scored 55 second half points downing the Seawolves 93-87, improving to 11-4 on the season.

Reyne Smith lead five Cougars in double figures as he went 4 of 6 from long range for 20 points. Ante Brzovic who was crucial in the win Thursday night had one of his best games of the season, going 8 of 13 from the field with two from downtown for 18 points. Coming in the bench Kobe Rodgers and Bryce Butler added 19 and 14 respectively, with CJ Fulton finishing with 13 points.

The contest was a straight up offensive battle as both squads shot 56% from the floor overall, with Charleston making 20 of 29 (68%) in the final 20 minutes of play. With most of the shots going thru the net, neither team turned the ball over much, with CofC winning a narrow 31-29 rebound margin.

Stony Brook defended their home court nicely early on, going up by 10 points (18-8) after eight minutes had gone by. The Cougars would erase the deficit, tying the contest at 20 apiece under the nine minute mark. Another surge by the Seawolves found Charleston down by 15, before an 8-0 run by the Cougars in the final two minutes of action made it 45-38 heading into the locker room.

Ben Burnham (6 pts) made a short jumper for Charleston to open the second half as the Cougars slowly chipped away at the lead, making it 53 all when Butler connected with 14:46 on the clock. The lead would change hands several times over the next ten minutes with the home team up by one (79-78) with 4:24 remaining.

But a long ball by Smith gave CofC hope as he, Rodgers, and Fulton closed out the contest making 8 of 8 from the free throw line to secure the victory and keep Charleston's seven game win streak alive. The Cougars improve to 11-4 on the season and 2-0 in the CAA.

Stony Brook wasn't without their offensive threats, with three of their starters racking up double figures. Tyler Stephenson-Moore and Aaron Clarke tied for a game high 21 points each, with the pair combining for five of the Seawolves eight 3-pointers. Keenan Fitzmorris went 7 of 8 overall to add 16 points for Stony Brook. The Seawolves fall to 8-7 for the year and 1-1 in league play.

Perhaps the two stats that made the difference were Charleston's 33-14 advantage on bench points, as well as a 19-8 margin on second chance points. CofC did finish making 13 of 29 from beyond the arc for 45%.

After two hard fought road wins to begin conference play, the College of Charleston return home for three straight contests, beginning with Elon Thursday night. Tip off is 7pm at TD Arena. The Cougars host Monmouth next Saturday at 4:30pm. Both games will be broadcast locally on the CW network.