Box Score

Columbus St. CSU 5-7,5-6 Peach Belt

Col. of Charleston CC 9-9,6-4 CAA

Columbus St. CSU

5-7,5-6 Peach Belt

Final

Feb. 20, 2021

Col. of Charleston CC

9-9,6-4 CAA

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Columbus St. CSU	42	35	6	83
Col. of Charleston CC	32	45	9	86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/20/2021 | Josh Fuller

Cougars Push DI Charleston to the Brink, Lose in OT

CSU held the lead for the majority of the game before falling in overtime.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team pushed Division I College of Charleston to the limit before falling 86-63 in overtime on Saturday. The non-conference game took place inside TD Arena.

The Cougars (5-7) were minutes away from a victory as Christian Chambers gave CSU a 76-68 lead with 2:02 remaining in regulation. However, Charleston closed the final minute on a 9-2 run, scoring seven of the nine points at the free throw line to force overtime.

In the extra period, Columbus State held the lead on two occasions before CofC took control. After a missed free throw kept CSU's chances alive in the closing seconds, the Cougars' last-second attempt to tie the game was unsuccessful.

"This is a tough one to swallow," commented head coach Robert Moore. "The guys left it all on the court and played so well against a DI opponent. You want to get wins, but I'm super proud of the effort today. We will have to shake it off and get ready to close out the year strong."

How It Happened

First Half

It was the Kalen Clifton show to begin the game as the senior was hot out of the gate. The guard scored 10 of CSU's first 12 points helping the Cougars to a 12-7 lead. It would remain tight until Columbus State began stretching the margin out. At the 9:16 mark, Hunter Preston answered a CofC 3-pointer with one of his own to push the score to 22-18. Four more points by Preston and an Anthony Moore bucket gave Columbus State a 28-21 advantage with 6:31 left in the half. Charleston cut the lead to four, 31-27, but Columbus State closed out the half strong. An 11-3 CSU run gave the Cougars a game-high 12-point lead, 42-30, in the final seconds. Five different players scored in the spurt as the Cougars took a 42-32 lead into the break.

Second Half

Columbus State fought off an early attempt by CofC to take the lead as Charleston made it a four-point game, 49-45, thanks to five quick points with 15:18 to go. However, the Cougars responded going on an 8-2 run to stretch the lead back to 10, 57-47, with just 12:08 to play. The lead grew to 11 later in the half on a Christian Chambers layup before things tightened up. CofC made it a one possession game after a 10-3 run shrunk the Cougars' margin to three, 69-66, with 5:12 remaining. The score remained within striking distance, but a pair of baskets from Lederrius Jones and Chambers gave the Cougars some breathing room with the lead going back to seven, 75-68, with just 2:20 to play. Charleston proceeded to score nine of the final 11 points to force the extra period. With three seconds left, Zep Jasper tied the game on a pair of free throws after drawing a foul.

Overtime

Clifton scored the opening bucket of OT to give Columbus State the lead, but three more points by CofC at the charity stripe pushed Charleston ahead for the first time in the game at the 3:37 mark. CSU briefly went back ahead on a Lorenzo Anderson jumper, but Charleston came right back thanks to two more points by Jasper. CofC continued to draw fouls to get to the line but went 4-for-6 giving Columbus State a chance for a last-second shot to force a second overtime period. However, the would-be tying 3-pointer was no good, allowing Charleston to escape with the win.

Box Score Breakdown

• Four players scored in double figures for Columbus State with Preston leading the way with 19. The senior added seven rebounds while going 8-for-15 from the field. Preston never left the court, playing the entire 45 minutes.
• Clifton scored 14 with Chambers and Moore adding 12 and 11, respectively.
• Moore posted his third double-double of the year after tying a career-high with 14 rebounds. The 11 points were the most by the senior since Feb. 11.
• The Cougars shot 47.8% (33-for-69) overall and 33.3% (7-for-21) from beyond the arc. CSU did struggle at the line going just 10-for-17 (58.8%).
• Jasper ended the game with 38 points for CofC. He made four of Charleston's seven 3-pointers and went 8-for-9 at the free throw line.
• CSU limited Charleston to shoot just 29.2% (7-for-24) on its 3-point attempts. CofC enter the day as the top 3-point shooting team in the Colonial Athletic Association.
• The Cougars outscored Charleston 40-24 in the paint.
• Charleston was 25-for-32 at the free throw line compared to CSU's 10-for-17 mark.

Cougar Notes

• Columbus State recorded just one block on Saturday. Entering the game, CSU averaged 5.1 blocks/game, the fourth-best mark at the DII level.
• The Cougars held the lead for nearly 39 minutes, while CofC was ahead for just over three minutes.
• Jones and Moore picked up six assists for the Cougars, which ties a season-high by any Cougar player this year.
• Columbus State is now 1-1 in overtime this season.
• The 47.8% shooting mark was the best performance for the Cougars from the floor in a month, a span of three games.
• Saturday's game was the first for Columbus State against a Division I opponent since Nov. 29, 2009 (vs. Alabama State).

Up Next

Columbus State will return to Peach Belt Conference play on Wednesday, Feb. 24 against Georgia Southwestern University. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center in Columbus.