Quick Turnaround As Cougars Get Set For JMU Rematch

Saturday, January 21

TD Arena

4:00 PM

College of Charleston

James Madison

Tickets

Photo by: Al Samuels

Quick Turnaround As Cougars Get Set For JMU Rematch

1/20/2017 5:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

James Madison Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (15-5, 6-1 CAA) vs. JAMES MADISON (6-14, 4-3 CAA)
Game #21
January 21, 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: Series Tied 4-4
Last Meeting: CofC def. James Madison, 53-51, on Jan. 12, 2017 in Harrisonburg, Va.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video via at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/charleston/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 41-43
Third Year Overall: 41-43
James Madison: Louis Rowe
First Year at JMU: 6-14
First Year Overall: 6-14

TELEVISION (MyTV Charleston)
Play-By-Play: Warren Peper
Color Analyst: John Kresse

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 (15-5, 6-1 CAA) will have a quick turnaround as it hosts a rematch with James Madison (6-14, 3-4 CAA) in both teams' second meeting of the conference season on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston. The Cougars are looking to rebound from a hard-fought 65-59 loss to current league leader UNCW (18-2, 7-0 CAA) on Jan. 19. They last met the Dukes nine days ago in a 53-51 road thriller that gave CofC its second-ever road win in Harrisonburg, Va. The halfway point of conference play is nearing and the team is still in the hunt in the league race. Redshirt junior guard Joe Chealey registered a game-high tying 17 points against UNCW, while redshirt freshman guard Grant Riller had 11. Expect another defensive battle between these two teams as they rank No. 1 (60.0 ppg) and No. 3 (67.6 ppg) in scoring defense in the CAA.

A LOOK AT JAMES MADISON
James Madison's last three games have been decided in single digits including a 60-59 victory over Elon on Jan. 14 and 73-72 setback at William & Mary on Jan. 19. The Dukes are lead in scoring by senior guard Jackson Kent (10th, 14.1 ppg), who is among the Top 10 scorers in the CAA next to CofC's Joe Chealey (7th, 15.4 ppg). They are 2-8 this season on the road with wins at Longwood and Hofstra. JMU is also in fourth-place in the latest league standings behind UNCW, CofC and Northeastern.

2017 COFC ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS
CofC Athletics will honor three of the newest members of the College of Charleston Athletics Hall of Fame during the JMU game. The 2017 induction class is highlighted by former College of Charleston President Lee Higdon (2001-06), men's soccer star Chad Carithers (1991-94) and men's golf standout Jedd McLuen (1998-01). Carithers is the most decorated men's soccer player in school history and still ranks first all-time in career goals (41) and career points (103). McLuen was a PING All-American for the Cougars and led them to nationals in 2001. He was nationally-ranked his sophomore, junior and senior years and became the first golfer in school history to qualify for a spot in one of the four majors - the U.S. Open in 2000 at Pebble Beach. Higdon was a dedicated supporter of CofC Athletics and is credited with doubling the athletics' budget in his time, which provided the needed support and resources to become a top-flight NCAA Division I program.

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, 3.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 33.1 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (11.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 23.5 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (7.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 31.2 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (13.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 31.4 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (5.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.3 apg, 22.7 min)

PROJECTED JAMES MADISON STARTERS
#4 Joey McLean, G, 6-0, 150, Jr. (9.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 31.2 min)
#10 Jackson Kent, G, 6-7, 200, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 35.6 min)
#23 Ramone Snowden, G, 6-6, 230, RS-Jr. (5.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 26.1 min)
#40 Yohanny Dalembert, F, 6-8, 240, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 19.7 min)
#13 Paulius Satkus, F, 6-8, 230, Sr. (7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.9 apg, 16.3 min)

SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between College of Charleston and James Madison is tied 4-4. Both teams split the regular-season series last year. The Cougars claimed their first-ever road win over the Dukes in Harrisonburg (65-62) on Dec. 31, 2015. Five of the last six games in the series have been decided in single digits.

LAST EIGHT GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 53-51 (+2) on Jan. 12, 2017 in Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 52-56 (-4) on Feb. 11, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-62 (+3) on Dec. 31, 2015 in Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 61-68 (-7) on Feb. 22, 2015 in Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 50-61 (-11) on Jan. 5, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 56-58 (-2) on Jan. 25, 2014 in Harrisonburg, Va.
W, 75-61 (+14) on Jan. 7, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 76-53 (+23) on Dec. 30, 2007 in Charleston, S.C.

JAMES MADISON RECAP
UNCW 65, College of Charleston 59
• UNCW has now won eight in a row in the all-time series and it was the third-straight game against College of Charleston that was decided in single digits (+6).
• Joe Chealey led all CofC scorers with a game-high tying 17 points including 15 second-half points. He has now scored in double figures in 15-of-20 games played this season. Chealey also led the team in assists with a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Jarrell Brantley fouled out of the ballgame with 12 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot against the Seahawks.
• Grant Riller is now on a season-best four-game CAA double-digit scoring streak with 11 points versus UNCW.
• Chevez Goodwin played only 12 minutes in the ballgame and brought down a team-high nine boards.
• The Cougars, who rank No. 11 in the nation in turnovers per game, only committed 11 turnovers against UNCW's press.
• Jaylen McManus came off the bench and contributed a career-high seven points and seven rebounds in only 11 minutes of action against UNCW.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We won seven in a row. Our guys have been playing well. We didn't talk so much about the win streak. We just wanted to get better every day. We are getting better and we have a good group of guys on our team. It was a two-possession game and we missed a lot of opportunities right at the rim that we usually make. You make one more, and make one more stop, maybe the results would have been different. You have to be better when it's a game for first place in the middle of the conference race. We will learn from our mistakes. We have a quick turnaround for the game on Saturday (against JMU) and will put this one behind us." – College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant on bouncing back from the UNCW loss

"They (UNCW) are a good team. We did a great job attacking their press with the exception of a couple of bad turnovers. We did not turn it over a lot and they force 18-to-19 a game. We like to have 12-and-under. Two of the turnovers we had were bad ones where they got some points out of it." – Coach Grant on taking care of the basketball against UNCW's press

"We will learn from the loss and get better. It's a long season. We still have 10-to-11 games left in the conference. It's not the end of the world. It's only seven games into the conference. It's too early to overreact or panic." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on rebounding from the UNCW loss

"They (JMU) are a really good, veteran team. It's a quick turnaround, but we are excited to play them again in such a short period of time. That's the thing about the Thursday-Saturday schedule. Regardless of what happened Thursday, you have to forget what happened, whether you win or lose. You have someone else to prepare for on Saturday. We are looking forward to another opportunity." – Chealey on prepping for second go-around with James Madison