College of Charleston 64, Cleveland State 56
NIT Second Round
Virginia Tech and Wichita State learned which team awaits the winner of their game Sunday when College of Charleston knocked off Cleveland State Saturday in Cleveland. The sixth-seeded Cougars will go on the road for their NIT quarterfinal game against either the Hokies or Shockers.
Charleston upset the second-seeded Vikings despite only 13 points on 3-for-12 shooting from Andrew Goudelock. Goudelock came into the game leading Charleston with 23.8 points per game. Cleveland State held Goudelock under 10 points for much o the game, but was able to get to the line late in the game to help seal the game for Charleston.
Freshman forward Trent Wiedeman helped make up for Goudelock's lack of production. Wiedeman had 13 points, nine rebounds and a team-high four assists from the post. He battled Cleveland State center Aaron Pogue all game. His height advantage and agility helped him on the offensive end, but Pogue's size was able to push him around when Cleveland State had the ball.
Pogue and the Vikings were able to out-rebound the Cougars and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds against Charleston's zone. And there were plenty of offensive rebounds available on Cleveland State shots as the Vikings struggled from the field against the Cougars' zone.
Cleveland State shot 33.3 percent from the floor, a number that doesn't look as bad when you consider the Vikings were an incredible 1-for-25 from three. CSU's struggles from behind the arc was personified by their all-everything guard Norris Cole, who was 0-for-8 on three-point attempts and finished 6-for-22 with a game-high 18 points.
Both teams shot the ball poorly in the second half, but Cleveland State was able to take a brief lead with 10 minutes left. An 11-0 run by Charleston gave it a 56-46 lead with 5:45 left in the game. The two teams then traded missed shots until Cleveland State finally made a layup with 2:32 to play to end a nearly eight-minute scoring drought and cut the lead to eight.
That's when Cleveland State initiated its full-court press and Charleston started turning the ball over. The Cougars committed three turnovers and saw Cole score eight points to cut their lead to four with 45 seconds to pay. The lead could have been slimmer had it not been for a pair of Cole turnovers during the same span.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Cole's jumper with 45 seconds left would be their last points of the game. Goudelock was 6-for-6 at the line in the game's final minute, including the game's final four points to give Charleston an eight-point lead.
The Cougars played good defense against Cleveland State, but were very vulnerable when the Vikings started to press. If Charleston wants to get to New York for the NIT semifinals they'll need a much better performance from Goudelock. Wiedeman showed some good post moves Saturday, but as a freshman doesn't have the bulk to deal with the big men from Virginia Tech or Wichita State.