CONWAY, S.C. – Three players scored in double figures as College of Charleston held off a last-second run by Coastal Carolina in a 71-64 road victory on Monday night at the HTC Center.
 
Jarrell Brantley registered a team-high 15 points and led the Cougars (2-0) to a 91.3 percent accuracy from the free throw line (21-of-23). CofC avenged a 67-61 loss to the Chanticleers (0-2) a year ago at TD Arena.
 
Joe Chealey finished with 14 points and Marquise Pointer added 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Charleston led virtually the entire ballgame, but Coastal's Elijah Wilson hit a jumper that cut the Cougars' lead to 52-51 midway through the second half. The Cougars responded with an 11-0 run capped by a Chevez Goodwin dunk to lead 63-51.
 
The Chanticleers clawed back to within three in the final minute, but Brantley hit a pair at the line to ice it.
 
Up next, the Cougars will open the ESPN Gildan Charleston Classic with Boise State on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Joe Chealey is now on a two-game double-digit scoring streak with 14 points in 27 minutes of action at Coastal Carolina.
• Marquise Pointer led the Cougars in rebounding for the first time of his career with five boards.
• CofC improves to 35-13 in the all-time series with Coastal Carolina. It marked the first time for the Cougars to play the Chanticleers in the HTC Center. They are now 14-10 on the road.
• The Cougars went a season-best 91.3 percent from the free throw line (21-of-23) behind perfect nights from charity from Joe Chealey (5-for-5) and Jarrell Brantley (4-for-4).

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
 
On the game …
"We did a great job of bringing our defense on the road. I thought we did a good job of defending and rebounding. It was great to have three players in double figures to be able to get the road win."
 
On the team's 11-0 run in the second half …
"It's a game of runs. When you play on the road and they have as good of players as they have with NCAA Tournament experience (it's a good road win). That's a very good team that we played with a very good coach. They don't lose a lot at home. Obviously, they made some huge shots. We made a couple of turnovers and we got it back under control. We got it stabilized by changing defenses."
 
On the team's free throws …
"I think the big thing is we talked so much about attacking the paint and trying to get the ball inside. Driving and kicking. Before we could kick it in, we got fouled. Our aggressive mentalilty put us in a situation where we were able to get to the free throw line. Plus, we had the right guys making free throws tonight."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey
On the team's free-throw shooting …
"Anytime we can get 21 points from the free throw line, it is great to efficient, especially when the game was so close."
 
On answering Coastal's runs in the final minutes of the game …
"That goes to show you that we still have work to do. It's only our second game of the season. We are just trying to get better. It gives us something to work on and get better at."