Ben Burnham Scores Game High 21 Pts.. Cougars Host Drexel Saturday In Crucial CAA Standings Matchup

CofC Sports Media

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's basketball team defeated North Carolina A&T 80-58 Thursday night in TD Arena.

Reyne Smith went on a personal 5-0 run in the early minutes to help the Cougars to build a 14-8 lead.

The Charleston defense forced a two-minute scoring drought for the visitors just before the Aggies responded by forcing four Cougar turnovers in four minutes. From then on, it was all Cougars. Smith drained a triple to highlight a 10-0 run as the CofC offense continued to surge taking a 40-27 advantage into the locker room.

The Aggies went on a 6-0 run out of the locker room to cut their deficit to nine. The Cougars responded with an 8-0 run of their own highlighted by threes from Jordan Crawford and Ben Burnham. Smith and Frankie Policelli silenced another brief Aggie run with back-to-back treys.

Burnham ignited the home crowd with a second-chance slam dunk poster to push the Cougar advantage to 72-56. The Cougars ended the game on a 7-0 run holding the Aggies to zero points in the final three minutes of the contest.

Burnham led the team with 21 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season. Smith scored 17 points behind five triples. Ante Brzovic added 11 points, and Crawford had ten to round out the double-figure scorers. Policelli grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds, the third most by any CAA player this season.

Charleston, now 17-7 and 8-3 in CAA play, will welcome Drexel to town Saturday. Tip is set for 3:30 in TD Arena. The Cougars and Dragons have matching 8-3 CAA records in a game that will have postseason implications.