Jasper Scores Career High 21 Points To Lead All Scorers
By: Jeff Walker, Sports
Coming off a tough 79-60 road loss Wednesday night to North Carolina, a game in which the College of Charleston men’s basketball team held their own for the first 20 minutes of play, the Cougars returned to TD Arena hosting Limestone on Saturday afternoon. It was decidedly different at home as the Cougars built on a 25 point half time lead, cruising to a 99-59 win over the Saints.
Junior guard Zep Jasper turned in a career best, leading all scorers with 21 points, including 5 of 9 from long range. He was one of four Cougars in double figures. JUCO transfer Cameron Copeland added 18 points, with graduate senior guard Payton Willis and redshirt freshman forward Dontavius King chipping in 16 and 15 points apiece respectively. With the win CofC improve to 1-1 early in the season, with Richmond on tap Wednesday at TD Arena.
With senior starter Brevin Galloway out of the game due to an illness, Jasper said he had to pick up the slack. “I felt like I had to shoot the ball a little more. I felt like I had to be more aggressive. I think this season is going to be a good one for the guards. Payton Willis is a great addition to this team. He has a lot of leadership and courage. He is a fifth-year senior. Brevin is a fifth-year senior as well.”
12 first half turnovers by the Saints combined with a 9-0 run by the Cougars helped CofC build a comfortable 46-21 lead at the break. Limestone could not find any offense in the first half, as they shot just 33 percent from the field, as CofC went 18 of 36 from the floor.
After intermission the Cougars picked up right where they left off, getting behind a 27-4 run that put the game out of reach for Limestone. The final stats said it all as CofC out shot Limestone 57 to 37 percent. The two biggest differences overall were rebounding, where the Cougs took a 44-25 advantage, and turnovers, 15-5 in favor of the home team.
Isayah Owens lead the Saints with 15 points. Jamal Hinkle and Ayo Dada added 11 and 10 points each for Limestone. It is the second straight loss (both to CAA teams) for Limestone to open the 20-21 season.
With all that is happening in the real world CofC Head Coach said it was nice to be back at TD Arena, where the Cougars last played in February.”It’s been a long time, so it was good to be back in our building.”
Shaking off the road loss to UNC, Grant added the team came in prepared. “I thought the guys came out with the right mental approach. We tried to play to our standards and not get caught up in who we were actually playing. They came out mentally ready to play. We executed the game plan. I’m proud we were able to play in front of our fans again.”
The Limestone game kicks off a five-game homestand for the Cougars and they will next take on Richmond next on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena.
