Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 81, UNC Wilmington 77
Wilmington, N.C. -- Dontaye Draper scored a career-high 33 points and overcame an early 10-point deficit en route to an 81-77 win over UNC Wilmington in men's college basketball action before 6,100 at Trask Coliseum on Tuesday.
Draper equaled the schools NCAA Division I mark set initially by the late Jeff Bolton in 2002.
The Cougars, who've won thee in a row at UNCW dating back to the 1993 season, improved to 5-4 overall. UNCW is 9-3 after its first home loss in five games.
Draper, out of Baltimore, Md., canned 12-of-18 shots and added 6-of-8 free throws for his total, which was the most for the Cougars since the late Jeff Bolton scored 33 points in a 76-75 overtime win over East Tennessee State on March 1, 2002. Sophomore center Josh Jackson added 15 points while freshman forward Jermaine Johnson and junior guard Renardo Dickerson scored nine points apiece for CofC.
Senior forward Mitch Laue paced the Seahawks with 16 points. Senior guard John Goldsberry chipped in 13 and junior guard T.J. Carter had 12.
With Charleston clinging to a 37-33 lead at halftime, UNCW took the lead briefly, 39-38, early in the second period when Laue connected on a trifecta from the top of the key at 18:50. But the Cougars forged ahead, 50-44, on a dunk by Jackson and a bank shot by Draper along the left wing at 13:36.
UNCW closed to within one point, 52-51, on a 3-pointer by T.J. Carter with 11:47 left before CofC took the lead for good on a bucket by Draper above the free throw line and a layup by senior playmaker Drew Hall. The basket by Hall at 10:57 staked the Cougars to a 56-51 edge.
CofC turned back several comeback bids by the Seahawks and increased its lead to as many as 10 points before carving out the four-point win. A triple by Dickerson in the right corner gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night, 70-60, with 5:01 remaining.
The Seahawks narrowed the deficit to 79-77 on a layup by Laue with nine seconds left, but Johnson dropped in a pair of free throws with six seconds showing to seal the win.
UNCW converted nine of its first 13 shots to build an early 16-6 advantage. Beckham Wyrick’s layup with 15:54 remaining completed a 9-0 run for the Seahawks before David Lawrence of CofC made the second of two free throws at 15:27 to stall the rally.
With the Seahawks ahead, 22-13, CofC scored nine unanswered points en route to a 22-7 run to take control of the first period. Jackson’s putback at 8:23 finished off a 9-0 spurt to tie the game at 22-all and a pair of free throws by Dickerson with 3:08 showing capped another mini-run that put the Cougars ahead, 35-29. A loose ball layup by Philip McCandies with 24 seconds left in the first half gave CofC a 37-33 lead at the break.
The Cougars host the College of Charleston Classic at the John Kresse Arena beginning Thursday. Rider will take on Long Island at 5:30. The Cougars play host Longwood in a 7:30 matchup.