from the charleston paper today:
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Charleston trailed 34-26 at halftime after committing 11 turnovers and converting only 6 of 31 field goal attempts. That changed in the second half, when the Cougars held Appalachian scoreless for 6-1/2 minutes and forced them into 27-percent shooting
"Gut check," Herrion called it. "I'm not sure it was a pleasant locker room at halftime. Even though we were down eight at the half, it felt like our defense was good enough. We were just so inefficient offensively in the first half. That's what scared me the most. I thought our defense in the second half was tremendous. Defense won the game for us."
The victory sends the Cougars (20-8) into a quarterfinal at 8:30 tonight against Chattanooga, the No. 2 seed out of the SoCon's North Division. Charleston, the No. 3 seed from the South Division, defeated the Mocs 83-76 earlier this season at John Kresse Arena.
"I have not seen an inch of tape on Chattanooga this week. I have done no preparation on them," Herrion said. "Obviously, I know they're playing very well. Jeff (Lebo) is a terrific coach. It's going to be a different game from when we played them down at our place, that's for sure.
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thursday's plays:
tenn chat +4-: the quote above illustrates just part of how big a bye is in a tournament setting. for the team playing the extra game, short turnaround means preparations are limited as well as the fatigue factor of playing back to back games deep in the season. herrion did a pretty good job last night of limiting minutes played, but the cougars' two big guns still logged 31 and 36 minutes. also, the tourney is not being played on coc's home court, but in the north charleston coliseum. it holds a little over 10k, and there were just over four thousand present for cougars' game with appy state. under such circumstances, i'm not willing to give coc much of a homecourt edge, yet the line doesn't appear to reflect much of an adjustment for thies factors.
tenn chat is well coached and playing well at the moment. they have won 19 of 26 socon tourney games since '93, and have advanced to the semis 19 of the 26 times the socon tourney has been played. this is the kind of situation i like to look for in tournament time, and warrants a play on the moneyline as well as with the points.
oregon st -3: beavers are having their best season in some time, and the fans in corvallis are taking notice and coming to the games again. tonight's a big game for ore st; they're on the brink of nailing down a spot in the pac 10 tourney, and definitely need a win tonight. ucla is in freefall lately, losing their last three and 11 of the last 13. modest number suggests beavers need do little more than prevail; this should be their night.
glta
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Charleston trailed 34-26 at halftime after committing 11 turnovers and converting only 6 of 31 field goal attempts. That changed in the second half, when the Cougars held Appalachian scoreless for 6-1/2 minutes and forced them into 27-percent shooting
"Gut check," Herrion called it. "I'm not sure it was a pleasant locker room at halftime. Even though we were down eight at the half, it felt like our defense was good enough. We were just so inefficient offensively in the first half. That's what scared me the most. I thought our defense in the second half was tremendous. Defense won the game for us."
The victory sends the Cougars (20-8) into a quarterfinal at 8:30 tonight against Chattanooga, the No. 2 seed out of the SoCon's North Division. Charleston, the No. 3 seed from the South Division, defeated the Mocs 83-76 earlier this season at John Kresse Arena.
"I have not seen an inch of tape on Chattanooga this week. I have done no preparation on them," Herrion said. "Obviously, I know they're playing very well. Jeff (Lebo) is a terrific coach. It's going to be a different game from when we played them down at our place, that's for sure.
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thursday's plays:
tenn chat +4-: the quote above illustrates just part of how big a bye is in a tournament setting. for the team playing the extra game, short turnaround means preparations are limited as well as the fatigue factor of playing back to back games deep in the season. herrion did a pretty good job last night of limiting minutes played, but the cougars' two big guns still logged 31 and 36 minutes. also, the tourney is not being played on coc's home court, but in the north charleston coliseum. it holds a little over 10k, and there were just over four thousand present for cougars' game with appy state. under such circumstances, i'm not willing to give coc much of a homecourt edge, yet the line doesn't appear to reflect much of an adjustment for thies factors.
tenn chat is well coached and playing well at the moment. they have won 19 of 26 socon tourney games since '93, and have advanced to the semis 19 of the 26 times the socon tourney has been played. this is the kind of situation i like to look for in tournament time, and warrants a play on the moneyline as well as with the points.
oregon st -3: beavers are having their best season in some time, and the fans in corvallis are taking notice and coming to the games again. tonight's a big game for ore st; they're on the brink of nailing down a spot in the pac 10 tourney, and definitely need a win tonight. ucla is in freefall lately, losing their last three and 11 of the last 13. modest number suggests beavers need do little more than prevail; this should be their night.
glta
