Sunday, November 27
TD Arena
4:00 PM
College of Charleston
vs
USC Upstate
Photo by: Tim Cowie
Cougars Host USC Upstate In Post-Thanksgiving, First-Time Meeting
11/26/2016 3:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (3-3, 0-0 CAA) vs. USC UPSTATE (3-2, 0-0 ASUN)
Game #7
November 27, 2016 • 4:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: None
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/charleston/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 29-41
Third Year Overall: 29-41
USC Upstate: Eddie Payne
15th Year at Upstate: 213-227
32nd Year Overall: 473-460
TELEVISION (None)
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (3-3) returns home for a post-Thanksgiving first-time meeting with USC Upstate (3-2) on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. (ET) which will begin a four-game homestand at TD Arena and the North Charleston Coliseum. The Cougars are 2-0 this season against in-state schools with wins over The Citadel (81-68) on Nov. 11 and Coastal Carolina (71-64) on Nov. 14. Both Palmetto State schools have rather young NCAA Division I programs as CofC moved up to Division I status from NAIA in 1991-92 and USC Upstate in 2007-08 from Division II. The Cougars won the NAIA national championship title in 1983, while the Spartans won the national title in 1982. They are looking to rebound from a 63-47 loss on the road to No. 2-ranked and defending national champion Villanova on Nov. 23.
A LOOK AT USC UPSTATE
The Spartans are riding a two-game win streak with victories over Charleston Southern (79-77) on Nov. 19 and Charlotte (108-103) in overtime on Nov. 22. They are on a seven-game road swing including at Charleston on Sunday and at Auburn on Tuesday. Senior center Michael Buchanan, who was an All-Atlantic Sun Second Team selection a year ago, led the team with his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 14 rebounds at Charlotte. He is one of five returning starters and the second 7-footer the Cougar bigs will face inside this season next to Tacko Fall of Wake Forest.
ON THE SIDELINES
USC Upstate Associate Head Coach Kyle Perry returns to the Lowcountry after spending the 2006-07 season at the College of Charleston serving as director of basketball operations under his college coach, Bobby Cremins. He recruited Cougar great Andrew Goudelock, who was the 4A Player of the Year in the state of Georgia at Stone Mountain High School. Goudelock finished his career as the school's career leader in points and ranks third in SoCon history with 2,571 points. He was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 46th overall pick.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Sunday's game is Kids Day and youth tickets are priced at $5. Free mini basketballs will be given to the first 300 kids. Tickets can be purchased by calling the CofC Ticket Office at: (843) 953-COFC or purchasing online at www.CofCSports.com/tickets
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2016-17 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 TD Arena alongside color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 30.2 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (8.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg, 18.3 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 30.0 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (13.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 30.5 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (4.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.2 apg, 22.5 min)
PROJECTED USC UPSTATE STARTERS
#1 Mike Cunningham, G, 6-1, 190, So. (15.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 32.8 min)
#11 Deion Holmes, G, 6-3, 195, So. (15.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 27.2 min)
#10 Josh Cuthbertson, F, 6-5, 210, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg, 30.8 min)
#4 Ramel Thompkins, F, 6-7, 215, Jr. (12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.0 min)
#15 Philip Whittington, F, 6-9, 215, So. (6.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 17.8 min)
VILLANOVA RECAP
No. 2 Villanova 63, College of Charleston 47
• It marked the fourth all-time in program history for College of Charleston to face the defending national champions next to North Carolina (2009-10), Louisville (2013-14) and Connecticut (2014-15).
• Villanova takes a one-game lead in the all-time series with College of Charleston, 2-1. Both team last met in the 2006 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 shooting from behind the three-point line and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven of the team's 30 rebounds. Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games.
• Nick Harris led the Cougars for the third time of his career in the rebounding column (8) against Villanova.
• CofC scored 26 of its 47 points in the paint and were only sent to the free throw line a season-low six times in which they converted five (83.3%).
• Grant Riller made his first career start and scored five points including a long-range three-pointer in the second half at Villanova.
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We will start our four-game home stretch with USC Upstate then Navy, Davidson and Anderson. They (USC Upstate) are a good team with a good coach. They won and beat Charlotte on the road in overtime. They also beat Charleston Southern last week. They are very capable and have some guys who can play. We are excited to get back home and play a game in front of our fans again at TD Arena." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's upcoming four-game stretch at home
"I think it's just important for us not to overreact. Coach (Grant) has said before that it's a marathon, not a sprint. We rebound from that tough stretch just by focusing on us, not the opponent. And, we've learned that the margin from being good to really good is small. Little things that we can correct through practice and throughout the course of the season." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on staying positive and rebounding from a tough three-game stretch against UCF, Wake Forest and No. 2 Villanova
Game #7
November 27, 2016 • 4:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: None
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/charleston/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 29-41
Third Year Overall: 29-41
USC Upstate: Eddie Payne
15th Year at Upstate: 213-227
32nd Year Overall: 473-460
TELEVISION (None)
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (3-3) returns home for a post-Thanksgiving first-time meeting with USC Upstate (3-2) on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. (ET) which will begin a four-game homestand at TD Arena and the North Charleston Coliseum. The Cougars are 2-0 this season against in-state schools with wins over The Citadel (81-68) on Nov. 11 and Coastal Carolina (71-64) on Nov. 14. Both Palmetto State schools have rather young NCAA Division I programs as CofC moved up to Division I status from NAIA in 1991-92 and USC Upstate in 2007-08 from Division II. The Cougars won the NAIA national championship title in 1983, while the Spartans won the national title in 1982. They are looking to rebound from a 63-47 loss on the road to No. 2-ranked and defending national champion Villanova on Nov. 23.
A LOOK AT USC UPSTATE
The Spartans are riding a two-game win streak with victories over Charleston Southern (79-77) on Nov. 19 and Charlotte (108-103) in overtime on Nov. 22. They are on a seven-game road swing including at Charleston on Sunday and at Auburn on Tuesday. Senior center Michael Buchanan, who was an All-Atlantic Sun Second Team selection a year ago, led the team with his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 14 rebounds at Charlotte. He is one of five returning starters and the second 7-footer the Cougar bigs will face inside this season next to Tacko Fall of Wake Forest.
ON THE SIDELINES
USC Upstate Associate Head Coach Kyle Perry returns to the Lowcountry after spending the 2006-07 season at the College of Charleston serving as director of basketball operations under his college coach, Bobby Cremins. He recruited Cougar great Andrew Goudelock, who was the 4A Player of the Year in the state of Georgia at Stone Mountain High School. Goudelock finished his career as the school's career leader in points and ranks third in SoCon history with 2,571 points. He was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 46th overall pick.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Sunday's game is Kids Day and youth tickets are priced at $5. Free mini basketballs will be given to the first 300 kids. Tickets can be purchased by calling the CofC Ticket Office at: (843) 953-COFC or purchasing online at www.CofCSports.com/tickets
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2016-17 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 TD Arena alongside color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 30.2 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (8.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg, 18.3 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 30.0 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (13.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 30.5 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (4.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.2 apg, 22.5 min)
PROJECTED USC UPSTATE STARTERS
#1 Mike Cunningham, G, 6-1, 190, So. (15.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 32.8 min)
#11 Deion Holmes, G, 6-3, 195, So. (15.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 27.2 min)
#10 Josh Cuthbertson, F, 6-5, 210, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg, 30.8 min)
#4 Ramel Thompkins, F, 6-7, 215, Jr. (12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.0 min)
#15 Philip Whittington, F, 6-9, 215, So. (6.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 17.8 min)
VILLANOVA RECAP
No. 2 Villanova 63, College of Charleston 47
• It marked the fourth all-time in program history for College of Charleston to face the defending national champions next to North Carolina (2009-10), Louisville (2013-14) and Connecticut (2014-15).
• Villanova takes a one-game lead in the all-time series with College of Charleston, 2-1. Both team last met in the 2006 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 shooting from behind the three-point line and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven of the team's 30 rebounds. Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games.
• Nick Harris led the Cougars for the third time of his career in the rebounding column (8) against Villanova.
• CofC scored 26 of its 47 points in the paint and were only sent to the free throw line a season-low six times in which they converted five (83.3%).
• Grant Riller made his first career start and scored five points including a long-range three-pointer in the second half at Villanova.
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We will start our four-game home stretch with USC Upstate then Navy, Davidson and Anderson. They (USC Upstate) are a good team with a good coach. They won and beat Charlotte on the road in overtime. They also beat Charleston Southern last week. They are very capable and have some guys who can play. We are excited to get back home and play a game in front of our fans again at TD Arena." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's upcoming four-game stretch at home
"I think it's just important for us not to overreact. Coach (Grant) has said before that it's a marathon, not a sprint. We rebound from that tough stretch just by focusing on us, not the opponent. And, we've learned that the margin from being good to really good is small. Little things that we can correct through practice and throughout the course of the season." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on staying positive and rebounding from a tough three-game stretch against UCF, Wake Forest and No. 2 Villanova
Players Mentioned
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