After a long, grueling season that left one of their senior teammates hobbled and them playing in their second-choice tournament, it looked like the Cougars’ season would fall flat, 12 minutes early.

The Wichita State Shockers had battered a College of Charleston team that couldn’t hit its shots, and couldn’t hold on to the ball. When Shocker Aaron Ellis hit a hook in the lane with 12:30 to play, it pushed the lead to 21 points and left the Cougars for dead in their third-round National Invitation Tournament game.

But this season, better teams than Wichita State have learned that these Cougars don’t go down without a fight.

Senior Andrew Goudelock began draining 3-pointers from all over the court – including two from beyond 26 feet in less than four minutes – and Donavan Monroe started to find his touch. As the Shockers bench celebrated, the Cougars slowly begin to reel in their Missouri Valley foes.

The Cougars clawed back to within seven on Monroe’s 3-pointer with 3:38 to play, but the College could not get any closer to the miracle as Wichita State hit free throw after free throw – the hometown Shockers made 19 free throws, eight more than the Cougars attempted in a game that had its share of contentious refereeing decisions – to seal the 82-75 win and a trip to Madison Square Garden.

“Drew (Goudelock) was starting to get hot and Donavan (Monroe) was starting to get hot,” said head coach Bobby Cremins. “It was getting interesting and anything could have happened. We hate to lose, but we went out fighting. These kids have had a great season. I don't want to use this as an excuse, but when we lost (senior forward Jeremy) Simmons, we lost our inside presence. But, our team kept playing.

“The most important thing is these guys never quit,” said Cremins. “I was glad to see our two seniors going down like that fighting. We could have lost by 40 (points). They tried to give us a knock-out punch and we hung in there, because we were getting knocked around. They got a baseline layup late and I wish we could have gotten the stop there. There is so much pressure on our guards to score. Wichita State has great balance. They are going to have a great chance to win the NIT. Congratulations to (former CofC assistant) Gregg (Marshall) and his program. I thought we walked out of this game with our heads up tonight."

For the College of Charleston’s all-time leading scorer, four years with this team, and these teammates, outweighs one loss to the Shockers.

“I love my teammates, my coaches, the city of Charleston and the whole program,” said Goudelock. “It's hard to believe it's your last game, because it seemed like we just got here. I remember the first time when I met Donavan, Antwaine (Wiggins) and Jeremy (Simmons). We have a lot of memories. You don't want to leave your teammates, because they are your best friends and brothers.

“We are now opening another new chapter in life. I'm just happy I had a chance to spend four years with these guys and we learned a lot about college and life and knowing what it takes to be a good person.”

For Goudelock, who finished with 31 points on 12-of-27 shooting, a new chapter has already begun. He may be involved in the NCAA Division I 3-point championship, to be held this weekend in Houston in conjunction with the Final Four, and he has already secured a spot in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. The PIT is a showcase tournament for college players that takes place the week after the Final Four in Portsmouth, Va. Former Cougar Anthony Johnson’s strong showing at Portsmouth helped him land the No. 39 spot in the 1997 NBA draft en route to a 13-year NBA career.

For the Cougars, who advanced deeper into the postseason this year than in any year since they joined Division I, it’s time to look toward next year.

The forward pair of junior Antwain Wiggins (7.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 42 blocks) and freshman Trent Wiedeman (8.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 39 blocks) will be joined by highly rated incoming center Adjehi Baru. Baru was touted as the high as the fifth-ranked center in this year’s signing class, and is unquestionably the highest-ranked high school player to ever join the Cougars.

With the loss of Goudelock and Monroe, the Cougars will look to Andrew Lawrence at the point guard spot. Lawrence, a hopeful for the 2012 English Olympic team, led the Cougars in steals this season and was third in assists, despite playing on 24 minutes per game. But the departing seniors will take 36.1 points and 6.3 assists per game with them.

The early question for the 2011-12 season is how does Cremins, who has always relied on fast, sure-handed, high-scoring guards, adapt the focus of his team as its talent base moves from the perimeter to the post, where some critics are already suggestion he might have two of the best big men in the Southern Conference in Baru and Wiedeman.

Only time will tell, but all indications point to the fact that for the first time in recent memory, it will be the big bangers down low, and not the blurry-quick guards outside, who will determine the success of the Cougars.