Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The 25th-ranked Columbus State University men's basketball team couldn't overcome Flagler's hot shooting as the Cougars fell 97-82 to the Saints Saturday in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams. The game took place inside Flagler Gymnasium in St. Augustine, Fla.
The loss was the first of the year for the Cougars as they now sit at 6-1 on the season. Flagler is now 6-1 as well extending its winning streak to six.
"This was a tough loss," commented head coach
Robert Moore. "Flagler is a very talented team and they had the hot hand tonight. Give them all the credit because they took it to us.
"We have to bounce back on Monday at home against another very good team in Augusta."
Despite the loss,
Darius Joell had a tremendous game pouring in 31 points with four assists.
Arben Camaj had a career-high 19 points after going 8-for-13 from the field.
Marcus Dixon recorded another double-double for the Cougars scoring 10 points, while pulling down 14 rebounds.
JaCori Payne also had 10 points for CSU.
Both teams came out firing as the Cougars held a slim 11-10 lead at the first media timeout. However from there, Flagler started to heat up from three. The Saints started a 13-2 run to jump out to a 23-13 lead just a little over midway through the half. FC had three three-pointers in the spurt.
The Saints were in control for the rest of the half as CSU was able to cut its deficit to single digits just twice over the final 11 minutes in the first. FC took a 48-38 lead into the break thanks to shooting 60 percent (9-for-15) from three in the period.
Columbus State came out strong in the second half quickly making up ground. Down 52-42, CSU started a 12-1 run to jump in front 54-53 with under 15 to play. Four different Cougars scored in the spurt, including Camaj who had the go-ahead three.
The lead didn't last long, however, as Flagler regained the lead on a pair of free throws less than a minute later. The Saints put together a quick 8-0 spurt to rebuild a comfortable lead before putting the game away with a 12-0 run that made it a 75-58 FC game. CSU never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.
As a team, Columbus State shot 45.3 percent (34-for-75), but just 21.4 percent (6-for-28) from three. In comparison, Flagler shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) and an impressive 50 percent (12-for-24) from three. FC was 25-for-32 from the free throw line to CSU's 8-for-11.
Columbus State will return to action on Monday taking on Augusta at 7:30 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.
