CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Joe Chealey recorded a game-high 19 points, but it wasn't enough to lift College of Charleston in a 78-61 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday night in the third-place game of the ESPN Gildan Charleston Classic at TD Arena.
 
The Demon Deacons (4-1) held Charleston defensively to 33.3 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent on threes. They also had five blocks and out-rebounded the Cougars (3-2), 36-30, in finishing 2-1 in the eight-team tournament.
 
Bryant Crawford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and John Collins added 15 points for Wake Forest.
 
The Demon Deacons took control against the home-standing Cougars with a 15-6 run over the final six minutes of the opening half. They kept the pressure up after the break as Crawford had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to build a 62-42 lead midway through the period.
 
CofC sliced that margin in half with 10-straight points, but could get no closer to lose for a second-straight game. Jarrell Brantley fouled out with 16 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Cougars will travel to No. 3-ranked and defending national champion Villanova as a non-bracketed game of the Charleston Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at The Pavilion in Villanova, Pa.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Joe Chealey has now scored in double figures in four of the last five contests including a game-high 19 points against Wake Forest.
• For the second-straight game, Jarrell Brantley was close to a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds versus the Demon Deacons. He is currently on a five-game double-digit scoring streak.
• The Cougars attempted a season-high 35 free-throw attempts against the Demon Deacons which was seven short of the school-record of 42 versus Holy Cross on Nov. 11, 2011 and The Citadel on Nov. 11, 2016. They have now shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line in four-of-five games of the season with a 74.3 percent accuracy versus Wake Forest.
• With the win, Wake Forest remains an undefeated 3-0 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. It was the first meeting between both schools since 1994.
• CofC is now 4-5 all-time in Charleston Classic games having gone 2-1 in the 2008 tournament, 1-2 in the 2012 tournament and 1-2 in the 2016 tournament.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
 
On the game …
"Tonight, we obviously played against a really good team in Wake Forest and knew that it would be a challenge. Our guys came out with the right mindset, but offensively in the first half, we came up short. We only scored 25 points in the first half. I'm pleased with the way they responded in the second half. We scored 36 and outrebounded them and did some good things. We have to do a little better job in the first half getting off to a good start offensively, so we make sure we don't have such a big gap at halftime. But again, we played against a very good team in Wake Forest. I knew this schedule would be challenging. We thought coming into this tournament that we would have a chance to get to the championship game. We will keep working at getting better every day. At the end of the season, we just want to be playing our best basketball."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey
 
On the team's game plan in the second half …
"We just wanted to be aggressive. It was kind of a product of us trying to attack the lane and throwing it inside. We got some early calls. We got into the bonus and wanted to keep attacking and keep their bigs in foul trouble."
 
On playing Power 5 schools on their home court …
"They (Wake Forest) are a good team. It's always a fun opportunity when you have a good team come play on your home court. It's still early for us – the fifth game of the season. We started off 3-0, lost these two games (against UCF and Wake Forest), but our mindset is still to trust the process. That's our mantra."
 
College of Charleston Sophomore Forward Jarrell Brantley
 
On trying to make a run at Wake Forest in the first half …
"It's frustrating. They (Wake Forest) are a good team. We are still learning. It's part of our growth. That's how it goes with our depth. We are still trying to figure things out (and get into a rhythm offensively). We know it will come together."