College of Charleston Improves to 29-3 With Wire-to-Wire CAA Quarterfinal Victory

The College of Charleston beat Stony Brook in the CAA quarterfinals in Washington DC on Sunday
The College of Charleston beat Stony Brook in the CAA quarterfinals in Washington DC on Sunday(CAA Sports)
Published: Mar. 5, 2023 at 10:07 PM EST
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Second-seeded Charleston sprinted out to a 22-2 lead and never looked back, beating No. 10 Stony Brook, 74-52, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.

The Cougars (29-3), who won their eighth consecutive game and tied Houston for the most overall victories in the nation, advance to face either Towson or Delaware in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. on Monday. Stony Brook dropped to 11-22 after the setback.

Sophomore forward Ante Brzovic led a balanced Charleston scoring effort with 15 points and seven rebounds and guard Dalton Bolon registered 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Guards Ryan Larson (11 points) and Reyne Smith (10 points) also reached double figures.

Center Keenan Fitzmorris tallied a game-high 18 points for Stony Brook and guard Toby Onyekonwu had 10 points, a team-best eight rebounds and four assists.

Charleston hit six of its first seven shots from the floor, including three treys, to grab a 15-2 lead in the first five minutes. A three-pointer by Raekwon Horton pushed the advantage to 22-2 with 13:22 to go in the period. Behind 11 first-half points from Fitzmorris, Stony Brook was able to slow the Cougars’ momentum and closed to within 42-26 at halftime.

The two teams played evenly through much of the second half. The Seawolves pulled within 13 (55-42) on a Tyler Stephenson-Moore bucket with 10:56 remaining. However, the Cougars responded with 12-3 surge capped by a Ryan Larson layup to build a comfortable 67-45 advantage with 7:06 to play.

Charleston shot just 38.2% from the floor but connected on 10 three-pointers. The Cougars also had a 47-32 rebounding advantage, including 15-3 on the offensive glass. Stony Brook shot 39.3% overall but made only 2-of-14 from beyond the arc.

The Cougars are into the Semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven seasons; Charleston has outscored opponents by 23.8 points per game during its current eight-game winning streak, which follows a 20-game run earlier in the year.