Photo Credit: Mike Wiser / CisternYard News

ROB WASHBURN
CAASports.com

BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior guard Payton Hulsey (Memphis, Tenn.) scored a team-high 18 points and sophomore guard Cameron Johnson (Athens, Ga.) blocked a potential game-tying field goal in the final seconds as College of Charleston defeated Delaware, 67-63, in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship on Friday night at Royal Farms Arena.

No. 7-seeded CofC raised its record to 17-13 under second-year head coach Earl Grant and will take on No. 2-seeded and co-regular season champion UNCW tomorrow in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet and locally on MyTV Charleston.

Hulsey hit on 7-of-10 shots from the field and had nine rebounds, five assists and a tournament-game-record tying and career-high seven steals in 29 minutes of action. He scored six of his team's final 11 points.

Johnson's block of Delaware sophomore guard Kory Holden's shot with three seconds remaining was the game's key defensive play. The Blue Hens trailed only 65-63 when Holden was denied on a driving attempt from the left side.

CAA Rookie of the Year Jarrell Brantley (Columbia, S.C.) rebounded the blocked attempt and hit two eventual game-winning free throws with one second to play to seal the Cougar victory. Brantley's successful free throw attempts came after teammates had converted on only one-of-six chances from the foul line during the final 2:28.

Holden got Delaware (7-23) to within 64-63 on driving layup with 21 seconds left, and sophomore forward Evan Bailey (Canton, Ohio) raised his team's lead to 65-63 by hitting the second of two free throws with 13.6 seconds to play.

Holden kept Delaware close with a game-high 30 points. The second-team All-CAA honoree also had seven rebounds in 37 minutes.

Brantley and Bailey joined Hulsey in double figures in scoring for CofC with 13 points each Brantley also had 10 rebounds, three assists and a three-point field goal, and Bailey had two three-pointers.

College of Charleston outscored Delaware 13-4 to close the first half and led 35-28 at the break and 39-28 early during the final period, but Delaware pulled into a 43-43 tie on Holden basket with 13:07 left. Holden's three-pointer with 11:02 remaining gave his team a 49-46 lead, but Bailey put the Cougars in front to stay 56-54 with a three-pointer with 7:51 left.

The CofC lead reached 60-54 on two Brantley free throws at the 5:39 mark, but two Hulsey field goals were the Cougars' only points the rest of the way until Bailey's made free throw at the 13.6-second mark.

Hulsey tied the tournament game record of seven steals set by Richmond's Gerald Jarmon in a 1994 game against East Carolina at the Richmond Coliseum. College of Charleston was credited with 14 steals – a season high.

For more information on College of Charleston Basketball, follow the Cougars on Twitter at @CofCBasketball.

POSTGAME NOTES

· College of Charleston went with the starting lineup of freshman Marquise Pointer, sophomore Cameron Johnson, junior transfer Payton Hulsey, freshman Jarrell Brantley and freshman Nick Harris (8-8). Johnson was the only starter who had previous CAA Tournament experience.

· With the win, the College of Charleston gets within one game of Delaware in the all-time series, 5-4. Six of the last seven games between the Cougars and Blue Hens in the all-time series have been decided by four points or less.

· The Cougars are now 2-2 all-time in CAA Tournament games since joining the league in July of 2013. They advance to their third-straight CAA quarterfinal appearance.

· CofC is now 2-1 all-time in CAA tournament games under second-year head coach Earl Grant.

· CAA All-Defensive Team selection Payton Hulsey turned in his ninth double-figure scoring game of the season with a team-high 18 points against Delaware. He was one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards and five assists. Hulsey also made a career-high seven steals which tied for the second-most in a single game by a CofC player since Marcus Woods in 1993 and Shane McCravy in 1999.

· CAA Rookie of the Year Jarrell Brantley recorded his fifth career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

· The Cougars made a season-high 14 steals against Delaware in the CAA First Round. It was the most in a single game since 13 steals at No. 15-ranked Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 19, 2015 .

POSTGAME QUOTES

College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant

On the game …

“We played really hard for 40 minutes. It was kind of an unconventional game, because they (Delaware) defensively changed it a lot from a box-and-one, to a 3-2 zone and a 1-3-1. We couldn't get into an offensive flow. But, I thought defensively, we did enough down the stretch. I'm really proud of our guys in how they competed and found a way to win the game.”

On Payton Hulsey's performance …

“He had a great game – 18 points, five rebounds, five assists with only one turnover in 29 minutes going 7-for-10 from the field. That's a phenomenal stat line. He did a little bit of everything for us tonight. He was poised with the ball in his hands. He did everything and we needed every bit of his effort to win this game.”

College of Charleston Freshman Forward Jarrell Brantley

On finishing out a game with five-close games to end the regular season …

“It was very important. Coach (Grant) helped us get here. Every time we lost, we learned that we needed to find a way to compete and get better. It just shows how we keep on improving.”

On avoiding freshman wall and playing at a high-level late in the year …

“The first day I stepped on campus, the coaches and players helped me every step of the way. They made sure that I was in the right position to score and in the right position to be successful. It (CAA Rookie of the Year honors) really is a credit to them.”

College of Charleston Junior Guard Payton Hulsey

On his career game and getting ready for the next game against UNCW …

“We will get our rest. It's the same mindset for me – to play hard for my team and coaches and contribute any way that I can.”