All 5,122 at the Carolina First Arena were on their feet as Andrew Goudelock drove into the lane with fewer than 30 seconds to give the College of Charleston its final lead against Appalachian State.

He missed a floating jumper but grabbed the offensive rebound. Then ASU’s 6-10 285-pound center Isaac Butts came down, fouling Goudelock and sending him to the floor hard.

Trainers and emergency officials rushed to the court to check on Charleston’s leading scorer. The arena was quiet, with the exception of Charleston fans harassing the Mountaineers. Within minutes, the anticipation was over and Goudelock was on the line to shoot 1-and-1 with 19.8 seconds left.

Under pressure of losing a first place automatic NIT bid and a first round bye to the Southern Conference tournament, Goudelock sunk them both to give Charleston the 73-72 win.

With the win, Charleston improved to 13-3 in the conference and 18-9 overall. Appalachian State fell to 10-5 in the conference and 16-11 overall.

Goudelock’s fall wasn’t the only terrifying moment of the game for coach Bobby Cremins. Appalachian State had orchestrated an inbounds play with 4.5 seconds left to try to steal the win, but Josh Hunter missed the baseline layup.

“We hung in there. I’ve been through this, and I love being back, but I don’t want a heart attack and I don’t want you to give me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” Cremins said. “I feel very fortunate that they didn’t score.”

Mountaineers coach Buzz Peterson designed the play for his guard Donald Sims, who led his team with 18 points and four 3-pointers, but Charleston double-teamed Sims and forced Hunter to take the shot.

Jeremy Simmons said he was relieved for Hunter’s miss.

“It got real nerve wracking. I didn’t know whether to take the charge or move out of the way,” said Simmons, who finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Charleston went into halftime with a 41-33 lead thanks to both Goudelock’s and Casaan Breeden’s 10 first-half points, but the Mountaineers battled back to take a 65-63 lead with 3 minutes left. Breeden and Simmons immediately responded.

Breeden hit his signature cockeyed 3-pointer and then grabbed a huge rebound on a Sims’ miss.

Down on the other end, Goudelock dished it to Simmons, who drove down the lane and in between two App State defenders for the layup and the foul. He sunk the free throw for the 3-point play.

The Mountaineers still didn’t give up. They caught Charleston and took the lead with a 3-pointer and a jumper in the paint by Kellen Brand with 40 seconds left before Goudelock’s hard hit at the end.

The hit, Cremins said, was a big break for the Cougars, who will now travel to Fairfax, Va. on Saturday to face Cinderella team George Mason in the ESPN Bracket Busters.

“He got bumped. He shot and missed and we were fortunate. He was upset. He missed the shot. Then he got clobbered,” Cremins said. “We wanted the ball in his hand. We got a break. Games like this come down to a break here or there.”

Goudelock finished with 18 points and Breeden finished with 15 points.

The Cougars ended their home season with a near-perfect 11-1, and it was also senior night at the arena. Breeden and Tony White, Jr. were both honored before the game. White, who was also Cremins’ first recruit, said he’s been blessed with a great four-year career in Charleston.

“It didn’t hit me until I looked at my mom and saw how emotional she got. It was a great experience,” said White, who finished with 5 assists and 2 steals. “Charleston’s given me the best four years of my life so far. It’s a beautiful city and I love it.”

After the Bracket Busters, Charleston will travel to Furman and Wofford next week for its final two games of the season before the conference tournament.