The College of Charleston men’s basketball team did not need its famous Curry-blocker, Antwaine Wiggins, as they routed Southern Conference rival Davidson 67-55 at home on Saturday.
In fact, the team did not even need a shooting performance by top shooters Andrew Goudelock and Tony White, Jr.
Instead, it was Jeremy Simmons who stepped up yet again and earned his second consecutive double-double. Simmons scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cougars improved to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Simmons wasn’t alone. Donavan Monroe scored 16 points, including shooting 2-3 from 3-point land. He’s 10 for 13 for 3-point shooting in the past three games against Tennessee, Georgia Southern and Davidson.
Charleston coach Bobby Cremins said he’s pleased to come away with a win, especially after chasing Davidson his first few years.
“When I first came here, Davidson dominated this league. At times, it was embarrassing,” Cremins said. “Last year, we finally caught Davidson. Those were great wins. We broke their 47th consecutive conference win. Now I think the conference is going to have more balance.”
Monroe echoed his coach’s feelings.
“Everybody knows about Davidson. Coach McKillop coaches those guys well,” Monroe said. “It’s always good to beat Davidson.”
The Cougars indeed beat the Wildcats. Charleston topped Davidson in nearly every category: Charleston shot 44 percent to Davidson’s 27 percent, Charleston had nine blocks to Davidson’s four, Charleston had five steals to Davidson’s two.
Davidson coach Bob McKillop gave Charleston credit and knew that his team just simply did not make the shots.
“It’s interesting when you make shots, everything feels better,” McKillop said. “We got terrific open looks. We just didn’t knock them down. That was a big factor.”
The game also featured a season-high seven dunks with five by Simmons and two by Monroe. Simmons also matched his career-high blocks with five.
One of the biggest plays of the game came at the end of the first half when Monroe sunk a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Charleston a 31-20 edge at halftime.
“His three before the half really made it. That three really was a good momentum swing,” Cremins said.
Another big item for the College was the lack of turnovers. After giving up 23 turnovers against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Charleston only gave up nine. Simmons said they were a little more prepared for any pressure this time against Davidson.
“We practiced the whole week that blitz defense. I was surprised they didn’t use it,” Simmons said.

Freshmen Willis Hall and Andrew Lawrence each finished with 7 points.

Cremins is now focusing on UNC Greensboro, who beat Samford 73-40. Charleston travels on Monday to play UNCG.