COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 91, UNC WILMINGTON 70

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior guard Dontaye Draper poured in 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to power the College of Charleston over UNC Wilmington, 91-70, in a men's college basketball matinee Sunday at John Kresse Arena.

The Cougars improved to 3-2 with the victory and moved to 11-3 all-time against the Seahawks. CofC broke open a one-point game at halftime with a 62-point explosion after the break, tying its school record for points in the second half.

The Seahawks dipped to 1-3 in Benny Moss' first season heading into UNCW's home opener on Wednesday against Colorado.

Draper, who also had a career-high six rebounds, was one of three CofC players in double figures. Junior center Jermaine Johnson chipped in a career-high 19 points and senior forward Philip McCandies had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Junior center Vladimir Kuljanin scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards for his third straight double-double. Junior forward Todd Hendley contributed 15 points and senior point guard Temi Soyebo scored 11.

The Seahawks, beginning a busy stretch of three games in six days, built a 30-29 edge at halftime and still led, 38-33, at 17:32 when junior forward Jeff Horowitz connected on a bank shot in the paint. But Charleston, energized by Draper, scored 15 of the next 20 points to gain some breathing room.

Draper scored nine points in the spurt and the second of three consecutive treys by the Balitmore native staked CofC to a 48-43 advantage with 13:39 remaining.

UNCW was still hanging around with 10 minutes left before the bottom fell out for the Seahawks. After a layup by Kuljanin sliced the deficit to 58-53 at 10:26, the Cougars reeled off 11 straight points in an 18-2 run that buried UNCW for good.

Jackson started the rally with a layup at 10:01 and Draper drained a pair of free throws with 5:57 showing and the lead swelled to 76-55.

Charleston, which shot just 35.3 percent in the first half, sizzled after the break, making 20-of-33 shots for 60.6 percent in the second period and 47.8 percent for the game. The Seahawks also bounced back from a cold first half, making 47.1 percent in the second period and 42.0 percent for the game.

The two teams combined for a solid 23-of-24 at the charity stripe. CofC drained 18-of-19 at the line and UNCW was a perfect 5-for-5.

The Seahawks finally play a home game on Wednesday after opening the new campaign with four contests away from Trask Coliseum, where UNCW went 12-1 last season. Moss and his club face Big 12 Conference member Colorado in the first-ever visit by a Big 12 team to Wilmington.

The Cougars visit Kentucky on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for their next test.