Cougars Win 19th Straight

Jody Lumpkin had 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 20 College of Charleston to a 85-59 victory over VMI on Monday night, extending the nation's longest winning streak to 19 games.

No. 1 Duke, which had been tied with Charleston with 18 consecutive victories, was idle Monday.

Charleston (22-2, 13-0 Southern Conference) at first seemed evenly matched in a sloppy game which saw the teams combine for 42 fouls.

But after Charleston fell behind 43-42 with 16:03 left, Lumpkin scored eight points to lead an 18-7 run that put the game away.

Charleston's man-to man defense, encouraged by a near-capacity crowd at the John Kresse Arena, held VMI (10-13, 7-6) to 28 percent shooting and one field goal during the last 7:50 of the game.

Jason Bell paced VMI with 17 points. Nick Richardson added 14 points.

Sedric Webber had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars while Jermel President scored 10 points.

The Cougars built a 22-13 lead in the first half, but VMI used constant full-court pressure during a 13-3 run. Bell scored seven points during the spurt that put VMI up 26-25 with 5:35 remaining.

The Cougars have a history of long, late-season winning streaks. In 1995-96, they had won 20 straight, while two years ago, they finished the regular season with 23 consecutive wins.

The Cougars, in only their first year in the Southern Conference, are also hoping to finish the season with a perfect record, becoming only the third conference team in the past 25 years to do so.

John Kresse's Charleston teams are now 101-0 when they score 84 or more points in a game.

Charleston has games remaining at Tennessee-Chattanooga and East Tennessee State before finishing its regular season Feb. 20 at home against Furman.

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