FORT COLLINS, Colo. – College of Charleston's season may have come to a close in the NIT First Round, but the Cougars have much to proud of under third-year head coach Earl Grant.
 
Down 42-33 at halftime, the fifth-seeded Cougars (25-10) showed the same grit and determination that put them in the position of their fifth all-time appearance in the NIT and first since 2011. They didn't go down without a fight against fourth-seeded Colorado State (24-11) on Tuesday night at Moby Arena.
 
CofC chipped away at the double-digit lead in the second of play and came within three, 72-69, on a three-pointer by All-CAA First Team selection Joe Chealey, who knocked down a three-pointer with 5:21 to go. Chealey was one of five players in double figures for the Cougars turning in a team-high 18 points after being held to just one point in the first half.
 
Gian Clavell, Colorado State's best player, knocked down back-to-back jumpers and free throws thereafter to seal the victory for the Rams, who will face either top-seeded Cal or eighth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the second round. The Mountain West Conference Player of the Year knocked down a game-high 22 points on 5-of-11 shooting from long range.
 
Charleston's Grant Riller and reserve Marquise Pointer kept the Cougars in the game in the first half and ended the night with 15 and 11 points respectively. Jarrell Brantley turned in a double-double performance with a solid 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• College of Charleston and Colorado State met for the first time in both program's history. The Rams move to 1-0 in the all-time series with the win.
• The Cougars are now 4-5 all-time in NIT games and made their fifth all-time appearance in school history.
• Joe Chealey registered a team-high 18 points including 17 in the second half of play at Colorado State. He ended the season on a career-best 17-game double-digit scoring streak. Chealey moved into 25th all-time on the school's career scoring list with 1,216 career points to date.
• Cameron Johnson recorded a season-high tying 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field with three big three-pointers versus Colorado State. It marked his seventh double-figure scoring game of the season.
• Marquise Pointer came off the bench turned in a season-high tying 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc against Colorado State.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 12 points and game-high tying 11 rebounds against Colorado State.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"I thought we played against a good team (in Colorado State) on their home court. We made a lot of mistakes in terms of defensively in the first half that gave them some easy open baskets at the rim. They had too many offensive rebounds. However, I am really proud of our players for not giving in when it got to 16 points and it wasn't going well for us. We were able to continue to fight. We are a lot better team than we showed tonight. I'm not going to let this game define our season. We will learn from it and try to grow."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey
On the team's second-half comeback …
"We started to get stops. Defensively, we tried to get out in transition on offense. We were able to cut it down to three. If we had done that for a full 40 minutes, we would have had a different outcome. It was a game of runs. Our defense got us back into the game (in the second half). We have to live with what happened offensively. We had some mental lapses in defense and that's why we are a little disappointed tonight."
 
College of Charleston Junior Guard Cameron Johnson
On defending Colorado State's best player …
"He (Gian Clavell) is a good player. It was a good contest. I think 90 percent of his shots that I guarded were good contests. He knocked some big shots down and is a really good player. I got to shake his hand after the game."
 
On the program's progress and building on next year …
"Nine wins my freshman year to sophomore year to 25-10 (record) and first round in the NIT. Everybody who plays on this team – it's our first time in postseason play. We have come a long way. We have a long way to go. Coach (Earl) Grant got us here. We have been doing something right to dig ourselves out of a nine-win season my freshman year. We just have to keep learning and building on that and continue to play Charleston Ball. Coach Grant is going to guide us higher and higher. We finally got to this point and it's only up from here. We know how this looks and tastes like."