COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (14-4, 5-0 CAA) vs. WILLIAM & MARY (8-7, 2-2 CAA)
Game #19
January 14, 2017 • 4:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
 
Television: MyTV Charleston
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: William & Mary Leads 5-2
Last Meeting: William & Mary def. CofC, 63-61, on Jan. 14, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/charleston/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 40-42
Third Year Overall: 40-42
William & Mary: Tony Shaver
14th Year at W&M: 184-232
31st Year Overall: 542-353
 
TELEVISION (MyTV Charleston)
Play-By-Play: Jeff McCarragher
Color Analyst: John Kresse
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
Three teams remain undefeated in Colonial Athletic Association play with the College of Charleston men's basketball team (14-4, 5-0 CAA) among those on top of the standings. The Cougars are riding a six-game win streak and off to their best conference start since joining the league in 2013. They will kick-off a three-game homestand at TD Arena with William & Mary (8-7, 2-2 CAA) on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston. The Tribe swept the regular-season series a year ago with a pair of single-digit victories. In this year's matchup, the CAA's No. 1 scoring defense in CofC (57.1 ppg) will go up against the No. 2 scoring offense in W&M (81.0 ppg). Charleston is coming off a 53-51 road thriller won in the final minutes on defense at James Madison on Jan. 12. Redshirt freshman guard Grant Riller knocked down a game-high 19 points to keep the Cougars' win streak intact. They have won 11 of their last 12. Three of the top playmakers in the conference will be on hand in Saturday's contest including CofC's Joe Chealey (8th, 3.2 apg) and William & Mary's David Cohen (3rd, 5.0 apg) and Omar Prewitt (10th, 2.9 apg).
 
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
William & Mary will have played four of its first five CAA games on the road including the Charleston game and a 101-77 road loss to preseason favorite UNCW on Jan. 12. Like CofC, the Tribe has three players averaging double figures in scoring in Daniel Dixon (16.1 ppg), Omar Prewitt (13.4 ppg) and Jack Whitman (11.4 ppg), who had a career-high 21 points at UNCW. As a team, W&M leads the CAA in blocked shots (4.6 bpg) followed by Charleston (3.6 bpg).
 
HOT START FOR COUGARS
The Cougars are off to an unbeaten 5-0 start to conference play for the first time as members of the CAA and since the 2010-11 campaign under former head coach Bobby Cremins as members of the Southern Conference. CofC last went 6-0 in 2009-10 (eight-straight league games won before the streak was halted at Western Carolina). In addition, the Cougars last won seven games in a row in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and are playing some of their best basketball in more than six years.
 
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 and color analyst Danny Johnson will call the action live from TD Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (15.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.1 apg,  32.6 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (10.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 22.6 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 31.2 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (12.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 32.1 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (5.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 23.1 min)
 
PROJECTED WILLIAM & MARY STARTERS
#34 David Cohn, G, 6-2, 168, RS-Jr. (6.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 28.5 min)
#0 Daniel Dixon, G, 6-6, 210, Sr. (16.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 27.1 min)
#5 Greg Malinowski, G/F, 6-6, 210, Jr. (7.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 20.4 min)
#4 Omar Prewitt, G/F, 6-7, 195, Sr. (13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 29.9 min)
#41 Jack Whitman, F, 6-9, 235, RS-Jr. (11.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 21.3 min)
 
SERIES HISTORY
William & Mary leads 5-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Cougars are 2-1 on their home court in the series. Even though both schools are two of the oldest universities in the country, the Tribe and Cougars met for just the first time in program history during the 2013-14 campaign.
 
LAST SEVEN GAMES IN SERIES
L, 61-63 (-2) on Jan. 14, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 70-78 (-8) on Jan. 2, 2016 in Williamsburg, Va.
W, 80-72 (+8) on Feb. 5, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 45-75 (-30) on Jan. 3, 2015 in Williamsburg, Va.
L, 59-70 (-11) on March 8, 2014 in Baltimore, Md.
W, 87-54 (+33) on Feb. 19, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 63-74 (-11) on Jan. 27, 2014 in Williamsburg, Va.
 
JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 53, James Madison 51
• College of Charleston is off to its best start since joining the Colonial Athletic Association in 2013. The Cougars are an undefeated 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 2010-11 as members of the Southern Conference.
• The all-time series is now tied 4-4 between CofC and James Madison. It marked only the program's second road win in Harrisonburg in the series in three tries.
• The Cougars are now 3-0 in CAA games this season when trailing at halftime. They trailed James Madison by seven points at the break. It was the third league game behind a three-point deficit at halftime against Towson on Jan. 5 and six-point deficit at Delaware on Jan. 2.
• Grant Riller turned in a game-high 19 points at James Madison. He has now registered back-to-back games in double figures in CAA play. It marked his season-best in a CAA game this season.
• Cameron Johnson recorded his fourth double-figure game of the season with 11 points with a season-high tying three three-pointers.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I have the same thoughts as I always have about them. They (William & Mary) are really skilled and can shoot the ball. They have a great style of play. In the last four years, they have been either second or third in the league and always playing in the championship game. They are a good team and are well coached. It's another challenge for us. Like any other game in the CAA, it's the next challenge and hurdle we have to jump. It's going to be hard. We will prepare the best we can and give it our best shot. We will trust in our game plan and see if we can go out and have some success on Saturday." – College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant on the quick turnaround to prep for William & Mary
 
"We are not always going to have great offensive nights like we had against Hofstra. We will have to win four (more CAA) games like we did against Hofstra where it's going to be high scoring and high paced. We will win four-or-five more games like we won at James Madison where it's going to be a backyard brawl. You have to mix it up, you have to defend and you have to rebound. It's going to be ugly, because there are so many good defensive teams in this league. Sometimes we have to win games in the 70s, but we can't be shy or ashamed of winning games in the 50s." – Coach Grant on the team's defensive balance
 
"It feels good. We still have our best basketball ahead of us. We picked our intensity up big time in the second half and on defense (at James Madison). We weren't focused on our offense. We focused on defense and that's all that matters." – Sophomore Forward Nick Harris on the team's 5-0 start in CAA play