CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Preseason Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Joe Chealey scored 29 points, two off his career high, and Cameron Johnson added 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting as College of Charleston beat Charlotte, 81-72, on Saturday night at Halton Arena.
 
The Cougars (2-1) took control of the game when Grant Riller accounted for seven points with a 3-pointer, layup and a jumper at the beginning and end of an 11-0 run in a two-minute span that put Charleston up 17-7 with 11:43 remaining before halftime. Riller ended the night with 17 points.
 
The 49ers (1-2) continued to trail by double digits until the game's final three minutes where they got within six on a jumper by Austin Ajukwa with 52 seconds left on the clock.
 
Najee Garvin led Charlotte with 15 of his 19 points in the second half. Andrien White added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Jon Davis had 16 points.
 
The Cougars have now won six of the last 10 contests in the all-time series. The last time the two teams met was Dec. 16, 2014 with Charlotte coming away with a 90-85 overtime win despite Chealey knocking down 30.
 
CofC will next travel to the Great Alaska Shootout and face Cal Poly in its opening-round game of the tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. (ET) / Noon (AT) in Anchorage, Alaska.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the third-consecutive game, the College of Charleston went with the starting five of Grant Riller, Joe Chealey, Cameron Johnson, Jaylen McManus and Nick Harris. It marked McManus' first game back in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
• The Cougars picked up only their fourth road win in the all-time series with Charlotte. It was their first since a 68-54 victory on Nov. 23, 1991 and redemption from a 90-85 overtime loss to the 49ers in both team's last meeting on Dec. 16, 2014.
• Joe Chealey recorded a game-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from long range at Charlotte. It was two shy of his career high of 31 and his 16th career 20-point game. He is currently on a three-game double-digit scoring streak. Chealey also moved into 18th on the all-time career scoring list (1,279 points) ahead of CofC greats Jermaine Johnson, Jody Lumpkin, Sedric Webber and Stacy Harris.
• Cameron Johnson turned in a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field with a team-high tying seven rebounds at Charlotte. It marked his 35th career game in double figures.
• Grant Riller extended his double-digit scoring streak to three games with 17 points at Charlotte.
• The Cougars scored a season-high 81 points at Charlotte including a season-best 10 three-pointers.
• CofC also shot a season-best 50 percent from the field (29-of-58) and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-22) versus the 49ers.
• Osinachi Smart came off the bench and contributed five points, five rebounds and two blocked shots at Charlotte. Samba Ndiaye also made his CofC debut and saw three minutes of action against the 49ers.
• Charlotte was the second opponent this season that the CofC defense held to 25 points or less at halftime.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"I am really happy for our players and coaching staff. They did a great job tonight of executing our game plan. We had so many young guys and older guys make big shots, big free throws and big plays tonight. I give them credit for being able to come on the road and beat a good team like Charlotte in their building. I feel really good about this team. I think the three practices in-between the Wichita State game helped us do some fine tuning."
 
On the play of Osinachi Smart …
"I think a redshirt year really helped him. He had some opportunities this summer in Ireland, where every night, he had some success in the three games we played there. He is just doing a great job for us."
 
On the first and second half …
"We had control of the game early. But, we were trying to do some things and had some mistakes in the game that were uncharacteristic based on position of guys. I have to do a better job of helping them stay more organized in tight spots. It was a great road win and I'm glad we were able to figure it out."