Cougars Head Into Final Great Alaska Shootout With Momentum and Look To Uphold History

Wednesday, November 22

Anchorage, Alaska

4:00 PM

College of Charleston

Cal Poly

Cougars Head Into Final Great Alaska Shootout With Momentum and Look To Uphold History

11/21/2017 5:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Cal Poly Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (2-1, 0-0 CAA) vs. CAL POLY (2-2, 0-0 Big West)
Game #4
GCI Great Alaska Shootout
November 22, 2017 • Noon (AST) / 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Alaska Airlines Center (5,000)
at Anchorage, Alaska

Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: None
Internet: Free Live Statistics at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa/
Live Video: Live Video via FloHoops at http://bit.ly/2ljDvtL
Tickets: www.GoSeawolves.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fourth Year at CofC: 53-49
Fourth Year Overall: 53-49
Cal Poly: Joe Callero
Ninth Year at Cal Poly: 113-141
19th Year Overall: 252-281

TELEVISION (None)

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
With one of the more storied histories in the 40-year tournament run of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout hosted by NCAA Division II Alaska-Anchorage, the College of Charleston men's basketball program (2-1) looks to uphold that history during the Thanksgiving holiday break on Nov. 22-25 at the American Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The Cougars will make the more than 4,500-mile trek once more to the Last Frontier after participating in the 1996 and 2002 tournaments. They will face Cal Poly (2-2) in a first-time meeting between both schools in the opening round on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at noon (AST) / 4:00 p.m. (EST). The Shootout began in 1978 and is the longest-running regular-season college basketball tournament in the country. In 2002, the 25th Anniversary of the tournament, CofC beat Wyoming and Oklahoma State to set-up a championship meeting with Villanova. The Cougars would prevail over the Wildcats to put The College's name amongst the all-time tournament winners list next to some of the most storied programs in America such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan State, UCLA, Duke, Kansas and Syracuse. Charleston built some momentum leading into this year's tournament with an 81-72 road victory at Charlotte paced by a 29-point performance from preseason Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Joe Chealey on Nov. 18. The Cougars shot an improved 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from long range against the 49ers. They have also consistently handled the ball well in their first three games of the season and currently rank No. 32 nationally in turnovers per game (10.7 avg.) under fourth-year head coach Earl Grant.

CLOSE-UP ON CAL POLY
The Mustangs are coming off a four-point win in a non-bracketed tournament game at Santa Clara (63-59) on Nov. 18. They also took Cal, who No. 6-ranked Wichita State made an 18-point comeback against in the Maui Invitational, to within single digits in a close 85-82 loss on Nov. 12. Cal Poly currently ranks No. 15 in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (44.8%) and No. 31 in three-point field goals per game (10.8 avg.).

GCI GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Nov. 22 – First Round
Game 1 – Cal Poly vs. College of Charleston at Noon (AST)
Game 2 – Central Michigan vs. Sam Houston State at 2:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 3 – Idaho vs. Santa Clara at 5:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 4 – CSU Bakersfield vs. Alaska Anchorage at 8:00 p.m. (AST)
Thursday, Nov. 23 – Consolation Semifinals
Game 5 – Cal Poly/CofC loser vs. CMU/SHSU loser at 5:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 6 – Idaho/SCU loser vs. CSUB/UAA loser at 8:00 p.m. (AST)
Friday, Nov. 24 – Semifinals
Game 7 – Cal Poly/CofC winner vs. CMU/SHSU winner at 5:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 8 – Idaho/SCU winner vs. CSUB/UAA winner at 8:00 p.m. (AST)
Saturday, Nov. 25
Game 9 – Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser (7th/8th place) at Noon (AST)
Game 10 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (4th/6th place) at 2:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 11 – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser (3rd/5th place) at 5:30 p.m. (AST)
Game 12 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (Championship) at 8:00 p.m. (AST)

COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2017-18 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Everett German will call the action live from Alaska Airlines Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

LIVE VIDEO AVAILABLE
All tournament games will be televised live locally throughout the state of Alaska on GCI Channel 907 (HD) and GCI Channel 1 (SD). Live video for all tournament games can be purchased at www.FloHoops.com.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (21.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 35.3 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 195, So. (19.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 35.3 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 36.0 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, So. (3.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 21.3 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 260, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 27.3 min)

PROJECTED CAL POLY STARTERS
#3 Donovan Fields, G, 5-10, Jr. (17.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 33.3 min)
#20 Victor Joseph, G, 6-0, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 30.8 min)
#5 Mark Crowe, G, 6-5, RS-Fr. (2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 20.5 min)
#21 Luke Meikle, F, 6-9, Sr. (6.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 23.0 min)
#30 Hank Hollingsworth, F, 6-10, So. (5.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 21.8 min)

COUGARS ALL-TIME IN THE GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
College of Charleston is 5-1 all-time in Great Alaska Shootout games. The Cougars won the championship title over Villanova (71-69) in 2002 under former head coach Tom Herrion and lost in the championship game to Kentucky (65-92) in 1996 under legendary head coach John Kresse. In 1996, Thaddeus Delaney, Stacy Harris and Anthony Johnson were named to the all-tournament team next to Ron Mercer and Derek Anderson of Kentucky, Otis Hill of Syracuse, and Brevin Knight and Tim Young of Stanford. In 2002, former Cougar great Troy Wheless was named Most Outstanding Player and Thomas Mobley and Zeke Johnson to the all-tournament team.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5-1)
CofC def. Arizona State, 77-68, on Nov. 27, 1996
CofC def. No. 21 Stanford, 82-78, on Nov. 29, 1996
No. 8 Kentucky def. CofC, 92-65, on Nov. 30, 1996
CofC def. Wyoming, 81-72, on Nov. 27, 2002
CofC def. Oklahoma State, 66-58, on Nov. 29, 2002
CofC def. Villanova, 71-69, on Nov. 30, 2002

BLOCK PARTY
The Cougars currently rank No. 63 in the nation and second in the CAA in blocked shots per game (5.0 bpg) behind junior big man Nick Harris (4), redshirt freshman forward Osinachi Smart (4) and sophomore forward Jaylen McManus (3). In his third career start at CofC, McManus made a career-high three blocks at Charlotte on Nov. 18.

COUGARS AGAINST THE BIG WEST
The Cougars are 1-1 all-time against Big West Conference opponents including a 61-48 victory over Cal State Fullerton at the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy tournament in Anaheim, Calif., and an 84-71 loss to host University of Hawai'i at the 2009 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

CHARLOTTE RECAP
College of Charleston 81, Charlotte 72
• 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.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"It's the last year of the tournament and it's exciting that we get to play in the last one. There are a lot of good mid-major teams in it. It will be a great trip for us. It's another long trip from home like Ireland. We open up the tournament with Cal Poly who played some really tough first games against Stanford and Cal. We are excited about going to this tournament. It's a great tournament for this team, and, at this time of the season." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on traveling to the Great Alaska Shootout

"Even last year, we had some early-season struggles in terms of shooting the ball. But, I always feel like your defense will be a little bit ahead of your offense early. I'd rather it be that way. To get stops and let your offense catch up. I'm hoping the (shooting) performance we had at Charlotte will give us some confidence and rhythm heading into the tournament in Alaska." – Coach Grant on the team's offense and shooting picking up in the road win at Charlotte

"It's another great bonding experience for us. Going to Ireland was more of a fun, team-bonding trip, but this trip will be more about business. Obviously, it is tough with the time difference. But, after we get there and have a day under our belts, it should be similar to how we adjusted to Ireland." – Sophomore Guard Grant Riller on traveling on both sides of the world this year to Ireland in August and now Alaska

"It is definitely going to be a different experience for us. I am not used to being in a colder climate. Where I am from (Nigeria), it's pretty hot over there. Going somewhere where it's really cold, I'm really looking forward to it and seeing the snow and mountains. I lived in Greensboro (North Carolina during high school) and we had snow there, but not like Alaska." – Redshirt Freshman Forward Osinachi Smart on traveling to Alaska