In a basketball game in which the outcome is likely going to come down to which team can win a couple of key possessions, it helps to have a player who can take over and change the game when things get tough.
On Monday night, the University of Charleston men's basketball team was able to look to senior guard Elliott Cole to carry the load down the stretch in a 91-80 win over Concord.
Cole scored 32 points, including 23 in the second half, and handed out three assists to key Charleston to the win.
"He's just a really special kid. You don't get those kind of kids at our level too often," Charleston coach Dwaine Osborne said. "When he's in a zone, he's really hard to stop and he's able to get others involved. That second half was really special and, hopefully, we see it more."
Cole started with nearly 14 minutes to play - hitting a step-back 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game 52-52. From there, he beat his man off the dribble on back-to-back possessions for easy layups, made another shot in the lane and drained another shot from beyond the arc to spark a run that put UC up 63-58.
"I always play with a lot of confidence, I know that when I get the chance to make those plays, that's what I have to do," Cole said. "We knew what we had to do if we wanted to win the game, and we just stuck with our plan and did what we were supposed to do.
"I have to give my teammates a lot of the credit, though. They make this game so much easier for me and we all had a great game tonight."
Following a first half in which it didn't look much like itself, allowing the Mountain Lions to make 50 percent of their shots from the field, the Golden Eagles (4-0, 2-0 Mountain East) were able to get back to their signature defensive game in the second half.
Concord made just seven of its first 20 attempts of the final half, including a stretch of nearly five minutes without a made field goal as UC held Concord to 39 percent shooting in the second half.
"Some of it was the fact that they stretch you out so much and we have so many new guys that didn't really know what they were getting into against them in the first half," Osborne said. "We were able to come in, make adjustments and settle in. We responded really well and were much more efficient."
It wasn't an easy one as both teams had plenty of chances seize the momentum in a game that included 10 lead changes and five ties and gave both teams an early reminder of what life can be like late in the season.
The first half was back and forth - with the two teams exchanging the lead seven times, including twice in the final seconds of the opening period.
Concord opened the game on a 12-2 run to take control, but Charleston was able to get back to playing the type of defense it has become accustomed to playing. Over the following five minutes, the Golden Eagles held the Mountain Lions scoreless, as they missed all five of their shot attempts and turned the ball over four times as UC rallied back with a 17-2 run of its own. That included 13 unanswered points to pull ahead and take UC's first lead of the game.
After that, the teams continued to swap baskets until Cole and the Golden Eagles took over down the stretch.
"The intensity of that game was off the charts for a November game," Osborne said. "I thought our guys played so hard, we were physical. We had some lapses at times, but for the most part this was our best overall game to date against a pretty good team."
Charleston also got 18 points from LeJavius Johnson while Shaq Speights hit double figures with 11 points. Justin Coleman scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Aaron Miller led the way for Concord (3-2, 1-1 MEC), scoring 22 points, and Stephen Thompson added 15 and five rebounds.