Cougars Travel To James Madison For CAA Opener On New Year's Eve
12/30/2015 7:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (8-3, 0-0 CAA) vs. JAMES MADISON (10-3, 0-0 CAA)
Game #12
December 31, 2015 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
JMU Convocation Center (6,426)
at Harrisonburg, Va.
Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: James Madison Leads 3-2
Last Meeting: JMU def. CofC, 68-61, on Feb. 22, 2015 in Harrisonburg, Va.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.JMUStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/jmu/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Second Year at CofC: 17-27
Second Year Overall: 17-27
James Madison: Matt Brady
Eighth Year at JMU: 128-119
12th Year Overall: 201-169
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
GAME PREVIEW
Before the ball drops in Times Square on New Year's Eve, the College of Charleston men's basketball team (8-3, 0-0 CAA) will close out the 2015 calendar year at James Madison (10-3, 0-0 CAA) in both teams' Colonial Athletic Association season opener on Thursday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. (ET) at the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va. The Cougars have won six of their last seven contests putting together their best non-conference record since the 2011-12 season with a pre-winter break 86-68 road victory at Campbell on Dec. 22. A new season gets underway as they embark on an 18-game conference slate with one goal in mind – win a league title to dance in March. Talk about a tough opening two weeks, the Cougars will play three of the league's top teams in their first four games in James Madison, picked to finish second in the preseason CAA coaches poll, William & Mary (4th) on Jan. 2 and Hofstra (1st) on Jan. 7 at TD Arena. Behind its signature defense that is holding opponents to 66.1 points per game, CofC will look to contain the league's top shooting ballclub in the Dukes, who are hitting with a 46.9 percent accuracy from the floor this season. The Cougars also rank No. 30 nationally in three-point field-goal defense (29.4%) and boast the CAA's leading scorer in junior guard Canyon Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who is the reigning Player of the Week averaging 22.1 points per game (14th among NCAA leaders). CofC is still searching for its first-ever road win in Harrisonburg. Both teams are currently ranked in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – JMU No. 19 and CofC No. 22.
THE BOOK ON JAMES MADISION
James Madison is currently on an eight-game winning streak and is the first and only CAA school to hit the 10-win mark this season. The Dukes are led by preseason All-CAA First Team selection Ron Curry, who is averaging a team-leading 14.5 points per game. He is one of three double-figure scorers on the team. JMU will play three of its first four league games at home including CofC – its sixth-consecutive opponent at the JMU Convocation Center. The Dukes are also shooting 39.3 percent from long range this season, which ranks No. 33 in the nation behind the marksmanship of junior newcomer Shakir Brown, who is a JUCO transfer hitting on 45.8 percent of his threes from beyond the arc (No. 31 among NCAA leaders).
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2015-16 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Everett German will call the action live from the JMU Convocation Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#3 Payton Hulsey, G, 6-5, 215, Jr.-Tr. (5.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 23.5 min)
#24 Canyon Barry, G, 6-6, 210, Jr. (22.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 33.1 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 196, So. (11.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 29.5 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 245, Fr. (8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 23.5 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 245, RS-Fr. (4.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 14.3 min)
PROJECTED JAMES MADISON STARTERS
#2 Ron Curry, G, 6-3, 200, Sr. (14.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 31.4 min)
#1 Shakir Brown, G, 6-6, 220, Jr. (14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 25.6 min)
#4 Joey McLean, G, 6-0, 160, So. (4.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 17.3 min)
#13 Tom Vodanovich, F, 6-7, 215, Jr. (6.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 24.8 min)
#40 Yohanny Dalembert, F, 6-8, 230, Jr. (9.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 20.7 min)
COUGARS IN CAA OPENERS
CofC is 1-1 all-time in CAA openers and will commence the conference season on the road for the second-straight year. Last season, the Cougars opened league play at William & Mary (L, 45-75) on Jan. 3, 2015 in Williamsburg, Va. In their inaugural campaign as members of the Colonial in 2013-14, CofC claimed its first-ever CAA win over James Madison (75-61) on Jan. 7, 2014 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
SERIES NOTES
James Madison leads 3-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston and has won the last three-consecutive meetings between the two schools. The Dukes swept the regular-season series in 2014-15, while both teams split the regular-season series by protecting their home courts in 2013-14. Prior to CAA membership, the Cougars defeated JMU in the championship game (W, 76-53) of the Jim 'N Nick's Cougar Classic on Dec. 30, 2007 at John Kresse Arena in Charleston, S.C.
LAST FIVE GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 61-68 (-7) on Feb. 22, 2015 in Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 50-61 (-11) on Jan. 5, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 56-58 (-2) on Jan. 25, 2014 in Harrisonburg, Va.
W, 75-61 (+14) on Jan. 7, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 76-53 (+23) on Dec. 30, 2007 in Charleston, S.C.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The CAA turned in one of the strongest non-conference performances in conference history with its 10 squads putting together a 72-40 overall record (.643). Making the numbers more impressive is the fact that less than half of those games have been at home. CAA teams have dominated at home (44-8), but have 21 victories in true road contests, which ranks third-most among all conferences.
COUGARS LEAD LEAGUE IN NCAA RPI
College of Charleston leads all CAA squads moving up to No. 49 in the latest NCAA RPI Report released on Dec. 29, followed by William & Mary (No. 51), Hofstra (No. 82), Northeastern (No. 91) and James Madison (No. 100). In all, the CAA is ranked No. 8 among the nation's 32 Division I conferences, which is its highest ranking ever at this point in the season. The Colonial is also one of only eight conferences with five teams among the Top 100 along with the ACC (9), Atlantic 10 (5), Big 12 (8), BIG EAST (5), Big Ten (10), Pac-12 (10) and SEC (9).
COUGAR SIDEBARS
• College of Charleston as well as the other CAA-member schools will play a Thursday/Saturday conference schedule this season, with a handful of games moving a day to accommodate television. CofC (LSU) is one of four league schools to have posted victories over Power 5 conference opponents this season next to Northeastern (No. 15 Miami), William & Mary (NC State) and Hofstra (Florida State).
• Graduate senior forward James Bourne (Alexandria, Va.) and sophomore walk-on guard Tim Branin II (Richmond, Va.) return home to the Old Dominion State. Bourne transferred from Winthrop and is averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while Branin has appeared in two games this season in reserve.
• Both the Cougars and Dukes played and defeated one common non-conference opponent this season in East Carolina. CofC defeated ECU, 77-73 (+4), on Dec. 7 at TD Arena, and JMU beat the Pirates, 67-61 (+6), on Dec. 20 at the JMU Convocation Center.
CAMPBELL RECAP
College of Charleston 86, Campbell 68
• For the fifth time this season, CofC went with the starting five of junior Payton Hulsey, junior Canyon Barry, sophomore Cameron Johnson, freshman Jarrell Brantley and redshirt freshman Nick Harris (3-1).
• With the win, College of Charleston now leads 13-4 in the all-time series with Campbell. It marked the Cougars' first road trip to Buies Creek since 1998 and eighth overall (6-2). They extended their win streak to 12 consecutive games in the series with 10 of those being decided in double figures.
• The Cougars registered their second-highest scoring output of the season (86 points) at Campbell as well as shot their second-best percentages from the field (57.9%) and beyond the arc (47.4%).
• Canyon Barry turned in his third career 30-point outing with a game-high 30 points at Campbell. It was one point shy of his career high of 31 set at Davidson and South Carolina State in November. He extended his double-digit scoring streak to seven games. Barry tied a career-best going 5-for-9 from three-point range.
• Payton Hulsey had a near double-double performance with nine points and a career-and game-high 12 rebounds at Campbell. He also dished out four assists and made three steals.
• Cameron Johnson registered his eighth game this season in double figures with 15 points along with four assists at Campbell.
• Marquise Pointer tied his career high with 16 points off the bench against Campbell. He has now reached double figures in six games this season including the last three contests.
COUGAR SOUND BITES
“Every game in the CAA is tough and every night is a challenge. It's never a night off. We certainly have our work cut out for us to start off the season with James Madison and William & Mary. We have a lot of challenges ahead, but we are excited about that, because every challenge is an opportunity.” – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on upcoming CAA play
“JMU is skilled and they have a lot of guys who can make shots. They have good size and return a lot of experience. Coach (Matt) Brady has had the luxury of having everyone in their program, except for one (junior transfer Shakir Brown), together for the last three-to-four years.” – Coach Grant on James Madison
“It certainly helps our confidence and energy level. Certainly, the worst thing to happen is to play that last game before Christmas, and have everyone ticked off and disappointed from a loss. Not only did we win on the road, but we also played well – a lot of our guys played well for us. After the break, it was a different atmosphere. There was a lot of energy when we came back to practice on the 27th – you could see the excitement and anticipation going into this new season.” – Coach Grant on going into the winter break with a win at Campbell
“They (Campbell) played a match-up zone and it's hard to run a lot of set plays. He (Barry) got so many points in transition. Our defense was so good. His teammates were finding him and he made some three-point shots.” – Coach Grant on Canyon Barry scoring 25 first-half points at Campbell
“We will continue to get better. We had a pretty good non-conference schedule to prepare us. It was tough and we were able to have some success (against LSU and Navy among others). Now, it's a new season. We are in our third year as members of the conference, so the next step for us is to have success in the CAA.” – Coach Grant on exceeding expectations in non-conference play and have it translate into CAA play
“Both games will present big challenges for us. But, we have prepared ourselves for this moment of the season, especially with our play in the non-conference. JMU is really skilled and executes really well. But, if we do what we need to do and stick to what we know, we will do well this week.” – CofC Freshman Forward Jarrell Brantley on opening conference play this week against two of the top teams in the league in JMU and William & Mary
