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As the college basketball calendar year comes to a close each year, coaches across the country often collaborate during the postseason. Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey will not be one of them.

He isn’t going to spill any tea on anybody— not even his rivals.

Kelsey, 47, is in his second year as head coach of the Cougars and led them to the NCAA Tournament for just second time since 2000. Charleston lost just three games and won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament by five on Tuesday to secure an automatic March Madness bid.

His team is an electric factory and Kelsey is the electrician.

The rest of the CAA will not be dancing. At least, in The Big Dance.

Hofstra, UNC Wilmington and Towson could end up in the NIT. Others could play in the CBI.

Towson is particularly interesting, because things recently got chippy between Kelsey and Tigers head coach Pat Skerry. They had words during the CAA Tournament.

After the game, though, Kelsey was super classy in victory and apologized.

The beef is apparently squashed, because Kelsey doesn’t want to help any team beat his conference foes. Not even Towson.

When it comes to college basketball, coaches who have friendships or prior-standing relationships often help each other out. They’ll offer insight into an common opponent’s game play, swap game film, and things of that nature.

For example, if Hofstra faces Michigan in the first round of the NIT— Juwan Howard might call Kelsey and ask for some insider information. Should something of that nature be the case this year, the latter is simply not interested in talking long.

Kelsey issued a public service announcement to coaches across the country on Thursday. He is not a resource for opponents of CAA teams in the NIT or CBI.

Kelsey, who recently signed an extension to stay in South Carolina, is keeping his cards close to his chest. And apparently he is doing the same with the cards of his conference counterparts! Respect!

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Battery kick off their 2023 campaign right at home when Phoenix Rising FC on Sat., March 11. The match at Patriots Point will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with gates opening at 6 p.m. ET.

The Battery and "Rising FC" have never previously faced each other, making Saturday's meeting the inaugural fixture. Charleston did play Phoenix during their Arizona United SC era, winning 2-0 in the Lowcountry thanks to a Dane Kelly brace.

Charleston enter the 2023 season with renewed optimism under Head Coach Ben Pirmann, the reigning USL Coach of the Year, as he leads a squad composed of core returners and exciting new additions.

Among the returners for the Battery are top scorer Augustine Williams and veteran defenders Leland Archer and AJ Paterson, both the club's longest-tenured players on the roster. Newcomers Trey Muse, Emilio Ycaza, Nick Markanich and Chris Allan, among others, will look to add a new dynamic to the Black and Yellow.

Phoenix are led by head coach Juan Guerra, who took the helm midway through last season. Rising FC have been a formidable side in the Western Conference since joining the league in 2014 as Arizona United SC. The Arizona club have twice reached the USL Championship Final (2018 and 2020) but were kept out of postseason play last year and will look to bounce back, starting on Saturday.

Erickson Gallardo is one to watch for Phoenix, who joined the club this offseason. The right winger notched nine goals and six assists for Venezuelan side Zamora FC, averaging a goal contribution every 137.4 minutes in the regular season.

Battery newcomer AJ Cochran will get a chance to face his former club this weekend. Cochran played for Phoenix from 2019 to 2020 and earned an All-League nod in 2019.

The interconference clash will also kick off the Battery's 30th anniversary season, as the Black and Yellow are the oldest continuously operated club in the United States.

FROM THE TRAINING GROUND

Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Augi Williams discussed the Phoenix fixture in the key quotes below.

Coach Pirmann on the start of the season...

Training has been good, [the team is] intense, they work hard. We're still a long way away, we're trying to put our ideas together and continue to further our identity, but the attitude's been great. It's a good group of young men and we keep improving. It's been a long five weeks but now that we're closer to Saturday night, it's something we're excited about.

Coach Pirmann on what Phoenix bring to the table...

Phoenix are a top club. They've got one of the best coaches in the league, so they're going to make us suffer when they're in possession. Hopefully, we can make sure we're organized and not let them get into a good rhythm. I think it's going to be a 50-50 game.

Williams on completing the preseason...

It's been a long process, we've been trying to work together and learn about each other, but it's a great feeling to be out there Saturday and, hopefully, we get the three points. It's an exciting feeling to be able to play against one of the best teams and to prove that you can compete with them.

Williams on opening the 2023 campaign at home...

It's amazing to start the season again at home and in front of our amazing fans. There's no better feeling than to be at home, you're in front of the people who support you the most. We're excited and want to bring that happiness to them again that they've been searching for, for a while. I think there's no better day to do that than on Saturday.

As of writing, Handwalla Bwana is listed as out.

MATCH INFO

Charleston Battery vs. Phoenix Rising FC

Saturday, March 11 - 7:30 p.m. ET Kickoff

Patriots Point

HOW TO WATCH:

Only a very limited amount of tickets are still available for Saturday's match and can be purchased via SeatGeek.com, the Battery's exclusive digital ticketing provider.

All Battery matches will also stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league's YouTube channel for free internationally.

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Though solar panel sales have reached a high in South Carolina, not everyone is happy with their purchase.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Though solar panel sales have reached a high in South Carolina, reaching a total of nearly 35,000 through July of last year, not everyone is happy with their purchase.

The latest numbers reflect the most installations seen since 2014 which is when the growth of solar really started in the Palmetto State.

Nancy Gilbert has lived in the same house in Charleston County for 26 years. She says that in 2016, a salesman for Vivint – now Sunrun – convinced Nancy’s husband that solar was the way to go for their household because their house faced the right direction.

“We felt we were doing our part of helping the world so we went with it,” Nancy says.

Unfortunately, Nancy’s husband passed away in May of this year.

“We got to the point where we looked at the contract and my dad was the sole signer so we told Sunrun to come get your stuff,” Nancy’s son Darren Gilbert says. “Get your panels and get them off the house, we don’t want them. She’s not signing the contract. Well, it turns out there’s an heirs clause in the lease.”

Nancy explains, as it stands now, they’re getting some electricity for themselves, they’re sending some to the electric company and some to Sunrun.

“We’re in the hole and now they’ve raised the percentage on the lease so now we’re losing even more money,” Nancy explains. “Our electric bill is fairly reasonable. We’re somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 to $150 a month. So I don’t have a problem with that. I just don’t think that I ought to be footing the bill for them to make money on my roof.”

Darren says they are six years in for leasing the panels and they have 14 years left.

“I calculated it out,” Darren says. “It’s going to cost roughly $12,000 more over the next 12 years than just paying for an electric bill.”

And the Gilbert’s aren’t the only people having difficulty with a solar company, a reason rules have been established.

The passage of the Distributed Energy Resource Program Act (Act 236) in 2014 ushered in a new era of solar leasing in South Carolina, and solar installations have grown exponentially since that time. Between 2014 and 2018, the number of solar installations has grown by more than 17,000. This growth represents a capacity increase of more than 460 MW. In addition to authorizing solar leasing, Act 236 established the operating guidelines for net energy metering and provided regulated utilities with a means for cost recovery via incentives for renewable energy procurement. The latter incentivizes utilities to procure electricity from utility-scale solar installations and to develop programs to increase the adoption of consumer-scale solar installations.

The Energy Freedom Act (Act 62) of 2019 instituted changes to solar regulation in South Carolina, including lifting the caps on net metering and solar leasing.

“We did notice there were a lot of bad actors that came on the scene with the 2014 Act 236,” Stacey Washington, the Senior Program Manager for the Office of Regulatory Staff, says. “So with the Energy Freedom Act, one of the first things in there is to make sure there is consumer protection regulations established.”

The Department of Consumer Affairs has regulations for people who purchase or finance solar installations. They have received 379 complaints since 2014 – when Act 236 was implemented to help spur the growth of solar. The Office of Regulatory Staff has regulations for people who lease solar installations. They have had about two dozen complaints since 2017, most of which were against Sunrun and Vivint, which are now the same company.

“They’re supposed to receive information on the front end about what all the landscape is in South Carolina, what the tax credits are, the disclosures that are needed on the front end so they know what they’re getting into,” Washington says.

When it comes to Nancy and her situation, she’s just trying to get in touch with Sunrun at this point.

“I’m not asking for free anything. I just want fair,” Nancy says.

Darren adds that he would not advise leasing the panels.

“If you can’t afford to buy them outright, just don’t do it.”

The state says they would like to see an increase for solar but they don’t have any specific goals.

The state encourages consumers to do their homework before any kind of agreement and the Energy Office is happy to answer any questions or help with any kind of issues you may be having with your solar panel company.

If you would like to learn more or have any questions, you can find more information here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Heading into Monday night, the College of Charleston Cougars were nowhere to be found in many esteemed bracketologies.

It was a weird situation. No team since 1993 has missed the NCAA Tournament with 30 wins, and the Cougars were just one win away from reaching that plateau. Along with that, many of the teams in the bracket picture had double-digit losses, the Cougars only had three.

Well on Tuesday, they snapped their fate out of the hands of the selection committee, winning the CAA Tournament in comeback fashion against UNCW, 63-58.

“It’s just something that we’ve worked so hard for,” the tournament’s most outstanding player Ryan Larson said. “Whether we were going to get in or not, the goal at the beginning of the season was to win a championship. So to do that, with this team, this coaching staff, best in the country, is so so special.”

This team has been just that. Now, I’ve seen them live six times and every time, I walk away amazed. Their defensive intensity is on another level, and their offense would give any defense fits. Along with all of this, the team's cohesiveness shines through every play. It showed this week during the conference tournament in Washington, D.C.

Charleston opened action with the 6 p.m. quarterfinal, meaning the arena was emptied out when their warmups began. I stuck around and watched them warm up.

WELCOME TO DC!Dalton Bolon just turned to the crowd and asked:“WHERE’S JOE BIDEN AT?!?” Hey, @POTUS… come over to ESA for the CAA Tournament over the next couple of days. Charleston is in your city.

— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) March 5, 2023

It was eye-opening seeing just how cohesive and engaged every one of the players was in not only their own success but their teammate's as well. Early on in the game against Stony Brook, it showed as they roared out to a 22-4 lead at the second media timeout.

The offense was not great for the remainder of the game, but the Cougars still won by 22 points. Saying that Stony Brook was who they closed the regular season against, it was impressive that they still dominated like that.

In the quarterfinal that followed, Towson blew out rival Delaware, setting up another instant classic between the Tigers and the Cougars. CofC won the first matchup between the two in overtime and the second just 10 days before this matchup via a late run at The Six.

Towson made it a point to get in the head of the Cougars early in the contest.

Less than three minutes into the game and technicals are already called on both coaches pic.twitter.com/f4IxuFwBeA

— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) March 7, 2023

Just like those double technicals two minutes in, the rest of the game was a battle. It was one of the most intense basketball games of the season.

Towson led by five at the break. Out of halftime, freshman Reyne Smith flipped the lead for CofC, making five straight shots, stretching it out to as many as 13.

“A message that kind of stuck with me at halftime, was coach was talking about ‘just have fun,’,” Smith said. “‘Don’t worry about your shots, miss or make. Have a smile on your face and trust your body of work.’ I kinda just changed my mindset and relaxed. That’s where, I kinda get unconscious, and I really don’t think of anything that’s happening. It’s all coming natural.”

Soon after this, the tides changed when the Cougars couldn’t hit their free throws. Towson took advantage, cutting slowly into the lead and tying the game up at the 2:26 mark.

That’s when the “Team MVP” as Pat Kelsey has called him many times, Jaylon Scott, came in the clutch. He blocked the potential game-winner from Nicolas Timberlake, sending Towson home.

This set up for a third matchup with UNCW for the Cougars.

Just like Towson, the Cougars swept the season series, but it was not easy. The championship game on Tuesday continued that trend.

After a close first half, UNCW roared out to a 14-0 run to take a seven-point lead on Charleston midway through the second half. They looked dead. I had people in the arena, telling me they weren’t going to win the game.

Well, they did, and the Cougars' response to that run was loud.

Led by Ryan Larson’s 23 points, the Cougars pulled off the 63-58 victory over the Seahawks, cementing themselves in the NCAA Tournament.

Although nothing is known on how the selection committee will rank teams this season, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Cougs on the 12-seed line. I could see them being seeded higher, I doubt they’re lower than 12. Nonetheless, they’re making a deep run in March.

Georgia (10-3) returns to the friendly confines of Foley Field for its next seven games after going 4-1 over a six-day span that saw it play in five different ballparks.

Recently, the Bulldogs claimed series over No. 16 Georgia Tech and swept a two-game set over Ga. Southern. Up next, it’s a three-game set with Charleston Southern (5-8) that begins Friday at 5:02 p.m. The Bucs posted a 9-2 home win over Holy Cross Tuesday. CSU is 0-5 against SEC teams this year, dropping three to nationally ranked Florida in Gainesville to open the season and a pair of midweek contests to Tennessee in Knoxville.

Series History: Georgia leads the all-time series with the Bucs 10-1 as it dates to 1996. Ten of the 11 games have come at Foley Field with the Bucs lone win coming in Charleston in 2018. That year, Georgia lost to CSU 5-4 and then blanked the Bucs 7-0 in Athens.

Running Around The Bases: Through 13 games, Georgia has been smashing the baseball, tallying a .314 batting average with 31 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs and a .594 slugging percentage.

Redshirt-freshman Charlie Condon (.490-6-29) has put a charge in the lineup as he ranks among the SEC leaders in several offensive categories. He is the reigning SEC Co-Player of the Week after hitting .588 (10-for-17) in four games last week with three home runs and eight RBI. In the two-game set with GSU, Condon notched his first career triple, hit two home runs and collected nine RBI. He has a 12-game hitting streak too.

Graduate Connor Tate (.480-2-15) has an 18-game hitting streak dating to last year. Juniors Parks Harber (.259-6-17) and Corey Collins (.324-4-9) have combined for 10 home runs.

In fact, the Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 11 of 13 games this year. They are 1-1 when they don’t hit a home run (Beat #16 Ga. Tech 7-2 in Athens; Lost to #16 Tech 4-1 at Coolray Field). The most home runs by Georgia in a home game has been five in a 11-6 win over Presbyterian while the most on the road is six in a 16-6 win over #16 Tech in Atlanta.

CSU is batting.243 with 25 doubles, no triples and 11 home runs. They are fielding .951.

On The Mound: The Bulldogs have a 5.17 ERA while holding opponents to a .235 batting average. The staff has registered 155 strikeouts with 64 walks. CSU sports a 6.67 ERA with its opponent batting .294. The Bucs staff has112 strikeouts with 55 walks.

Weekend Rotation: Georgia junior LHP Jaden Woods (2-0, 2.84 ERA) and junior LHP Liam Sullivan (2-0, 0.59 ERA) along with senior Nolan Crisp (1-1, 4.82 ERA) will form this weekend’s rotation again. Woods and Sullivan have been dominant in their last two outings while Crisp has been on a shorter leash due to a fresh bullpen.

In his last two starts, Woods has thrown a combined 10.2 scoreless innings with 19 strikeouts while Sullivan has gone 12.1 innings with 19 strikeouts and only two runs. CSU’s probable rotation will be Ryan Gleason (1-2, 6.97, LHP, Sr.), Evan Truitt (0-2, 4.41, RHP, So.) and Sam Massey (0-1, 8.22, LHP, Jr.).

Bulldog Bullpen: Graduate Dalton Rhadans (0-0, 1.00 ERA, 1 SV, 9 IP, 0BB, 11K) and Kyle Greenler (1-0, 2.16 ERA, 8.1 IP, 4BB, 13K) have seen the most action and been the most effective with six appearances apiece. Junior transfer Zach DeVito (0-0, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 2BB, 5K), freshman Matthew Hoskins (0-0, 3.38 ERA, 2BB, 10K) and sophomore Chandler Marsh (1-0, 5.79 ERA, 4.2 IP, 6BB, 10K) have done well in late-game situations. Juniors Will Pearson (0-0, 0.00, 4 IP, 1BB, 3K) and Collin Caldwell (0-0, 0.00 ERA), 3 IP, 3BB, 4K) looked good in the series sweep of Ga. Southern.

Due to impending inclement weather, the Georgia-Charleston Southern baseball series in Athens will begin with its regularly scheduled Friday game at 5 p.m. and will conclude with a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m.

For the doubleheader, the NCAA’s 10-run will be in effect where a game would be called after seven innings if a team is ahead by 10 or more runs.

Fans holding tickets for Saturday’s action that will begin at 2 p.m. will be admitted to the first game of the doubleheader only as the stadium will be cleared between games. Entry for Saturday’s second game of the doubleheader would need a ticket for game three of the series (Sunday ticket). Please note the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader will not start before 5:30 p.m.