It was the battle of the two top teams in the Southern Conference with the North Division-leading Bucs facing the South Division-leading Cougars of the College of Charleston, in what could be a preview of the Southern Conference Tournament final.
The Bucs (14-8, 9-2), in front of 3,609 roaring fans, defeated the Cougars (19-4, 9-2) Tuesday night in Memorial Center, 62-47, holding the Cougars to their lowest scoring output in their last 110 games.
“This was a big win for our program,” Head Coach Ed DeChellis said. “I’m proud of our kids, but we haven’t done anything yet.”
The Bucs jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes of action behind post players Adrian Meeks and Renaldo Johnson, who scored 10 of the Bucs first 12 points.
“We had great practices,” Meeks said. “We’ve been playing physical with every team.”
The Cougars came firing back off of an 8-2 run that put it down by four at 14-10 before senior D.J. McDuffie nailed a three-pointer to put the Bucs back up by seven.
The Cougars once again fought back, getting within a singlepoint at 26-25 with 1:51 to go in the half.
However, McDuffie struck again, this time with a driving layup that put the Bucs up 28-25 to close out the half.
DeChellis was pleased with the effort of his team, which limited the Cougars to only six offensive rebounds and outrebounded them by a total of 21 during the game.
DeChellis was also happy with the way his bench stepped up in such an important game, particularly McDuffie.
“We made a lot of big plays,” he said. “I’m proud of our bench. I thought D.J. did some great things.”
At the start of the second half the Bucs and Cougars went back and forth, answering each other’s baskets and continuing their physical play.
The Cougars cut the Bucs lead down to three points with 7:40 to go, off a three-pointer by guard Troy Wheless at 45-42, which would be the closest they would get.
After a baby hook by freshman Corey Seels and a slashing layup through the lane by McDuffie, the Bucs team found itself up by seven, and then Dimeco Childress took over.
The junior guard nailed the first of back-to-back threes at the 5:05 mark, giving the Bucs a 10-point lead, their biggest since they led 12-2 in the early minutes.
Then off a steal by freshman Jerald Fields, Childress hit his second three of the half and followed it with a mid-range jumper, giving the Bucs a 57-42 lead with 3:49 to go in the game.
“The guys did a great job getting me wide open looks,” Childress said.
After the onslaught by Childress, the Cougars were unable to mount a comeback, losing for the first time in four meetings with the Bucs.
Seniors Meeks and McDuffie, who have been a part of the three loses to the College of Charleston, were pleased with their team’s victory.
“This was a great win for us,” Meeks said. “We played like champions tonight.”
“This does wonders for our confidence,” McDuffie said. “Now we know we can beat these guys.”
The Bucs were led by Childress, who ranks tenth in the conference in scoring (13.7 ppg), with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Bucs also received a strong performance from Johnson, who recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Meeks and point guard Cliff Decoster joined Childress and Johnson in double figures with 10 points apiece. Decoster also dished out a team-high six assists.
DeChellis was pleased with his team’s effort and wants them to enjoy the win, but realizes the season is still a long way from being over.
“We still have a long way to go,” he said. “We want to win the North Division, but I want them to enjoy the win tonight. Our kids deserve it.”
The Bucs return to action Saturday as they travel to Georgia Southern with the tipoff set for 2:30 p.m.

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