CHARLESTON, S.C. – Grant Riller scored a game-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead College of Charleston to a 70-64 victory over Navy on Thursday night at TD Arena.
 
It marked Riller's second career 20-point game in only eight games of the season for the Cougars (5-3), who have now won two in a row and shot a season-high 46.2 percent (18-of-39) against the Midshipmen (3-5).
 
Jarrell Brantley hit a last-second three-pointer as both teams headed into the lockerroom tied at 26-26 at halftime. He recorded 13 points and seven rebounds, while Cameron Johnson added a season-high 14.
 
Both teams traded the lead 22 times and went on separate runs late in the second half with the game still in the balance. Riller and Johnson sparked a 9-0 run after Navy tied the ballgame up at 54-54 with 4:48 remaining in regulation.
 
The Midshipmen were forced to foul after Riller drained a long-range three-pointer with 1:54 to go, 63-54. From the charity stripe, the Cougars made 27-of-36 attempts including 10-for-12 from Riller and 5-for-7 from Brantley.
 
Navy was led in scoring by George Kiernan with 15 points off the bench, while Shawn Anderson turned in 14 and Tom Lacey 10 in the loss that snapped the Midshipmen's two-game win streak.
 
Up ahead, the Cougars will host former Southern Conference rival Davidson (5-1) on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling the CofC Ticket Office at: (843) 953-COFC or going online at: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• With the win, College of Charleston remains an undefeated 2-0 in the all-time series with Navy. Both teams met for the first time last season in Annapolis, Md.
• Grant Riller made his third career start and registered a game-and career-high 26 points against Navy. It marked his third game in double figures and second career 20-point game in only eight games of the season.
• Jarrell Brantley extended his team-leading double-digit scoring streak to eight-straight games with 13 points and team-high seven rebounds against Navy.
• Cameron Johnson turned in a season-high 14 points in addition to four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals versus the Midshipmen.
• The Cougars shot a season-high 46.2 percent from the field (18-of-39) and their second-best percentage of the season from beyond the arc at 36.8 percent (7-of-19).
• CofC was sent to the free throw line 36 times – the second-most this season in a single game behind 42 attempts versus The Citadel in the season opener on Nov. 11.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"Tonight was an interesting game. Certainly, we didn't play our best game tonight, but I was proud that we found a way to win it. We knew Navy was a scrappy team. They won their last two games. Ed DeChellis is a really good coach. Every game you watch them play, they play hard and they compete at a high level. I told my players it would be a war and I'm happy we were able to fight and found a way to win the game."
 
On having a war and building character from this game …
"I thank God we have guys who really enjoy each other. A sign of a good team is when you can win a game when you don't play a game particularly well. We've never been able to do that since I've been here. It's probably the first time we won a game that we didn't play well. Usually you lose those kinds of games. I thought Marquise Pointer, Terrance O'Donohue, Grant Riller, Evan Bailey and Cam Johnson – there was a five-minute stretch in the second half where they stabilized the game. They took two charges, made some big-time shots and played with a lot of energy. They (Evan, Marquise and Terrance) came through and were ready to play when we called their number. It was a total team effort."
 
College of Charleston Junior Guard Cameron Johnson
On the second-half run and the performance of Grant Riller …
"We have to just keep grinding, keep playing defense and getting stops. Hopefully, get more easy buckets in transition. It's kind of easy to go on runs when you have a teammate like Grant Riller putting in buckets like he is doing. It's nothing new to us. We see it in practice all the time. It was a good opportunity for him. He saw space, created space and got some looks that he liked tonight."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Freshman Guard Grant Riller
On contributing in the run to put the Cougars on top in the second half …
"It felt really good to contribute. The past couple of games, I haven't been shooting the ball too well. Just to come in and get some easy buckets – that will help me out in the long run. It's just the law of averages, I guess. The past couple of days in practice, I've felt good and we've been having good practices as a team."