NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Joe Chealey scored four points in the final 40 seconds, including two free throws with just eight ticks left, and second-seeded College of Charleston outlasted seventh-seeded James Madison, 67-62, on Saturday in the third quarterfinal game of the 2017 CAA Men's Basketball Championship.
 
The Cougars (24-8) owned a two-point lead – and possession of the ball under their own hoop – with 37 seconds left, before Cameron Johnson tossed a full-court heave that landed perfectly in the hands of a streaking Chealey, who netted an easy layup to make it 63-59.
 
CofC (24-8) will face third-seeded Towson (20-12) in Sunday's second semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on Comcast SportsNet and CAA.tv. It's CofC's first-ever appearance in the semifinals of the CAA Championship.
 
JMU (10-23) still had life with less than 10 seconds left after senior Shakir Brown made three from the free throw line, but the Dukes opted to foul Chealey during the ensuing inbounds play. The redshirt junior calmly responded by making both shots, and the Cougars eventually pulled out the win shortly after.
 
Cougar sophomore Jarrell Brantley recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, and Chealey led his team with 21 points, which included an 11-of-13 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Dukes, fresh off a round 1 win over Drexel on Friday, were led in defeat by Brown's 22 points, while senior Tom Vodanovich had 13 and six rebounds in his final collegiate game.
 
In the first half, the Cougars went up 25-15 with six-plus minutes left following a bucket from Evan Bailey. Madison fought back as the period ended, utilizing a 12-5 run capped by Brown's second three-pointer of the game with 56 seconds remaining.
 
Charleston stayed just ahead of JMU for the entire second half, until the Dukes evened the game at 56-56 with 4:05 remaining on a layup from Paulius Satkus. JMU's Joey McLean again tied the game for the Dukes at 59-59 with just over two minutes to play, and Johnson came up huge with a jumper at the 1:51 mark prior to Chealey's wide-open layup.
 
Fans can purchase tickets at the North Charleston Coliseum Box Office or online at: www.Ticketmaster.com.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• College of Charleston advances to its first-ever appearance in the CAA Semifinals since joining the league in 2013. The Cougars last appeared in a conference tournament semifinal during the 2012-13 season as members of the Southern Conference.
• CofC now leads 6-4 in the all-time series with James Madison and went 3-0 this season against the Dukes including a first-ever conference regular-season sweep. It was the second of the three games to be decided in single digits next to a two-point road thriller (W, 53-51) on Jan. 12 in Harrisonburg, Va.
• Joe Chealey recorded his 12th game this season with 20-or-more points with a team-high 21 points including a 11-of-13 performance from the free throw line against JMU. He extended his double-digit scoring streak to a career-best 14 consecutive games.
• Jarrell Brantley registered his 10th double-double of the season and 15th of his career with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds versus James Madison.
• The Cougars outrebounded the Dukes, 38-33, behind 10 from Brantley and seven from Nick Harris.
• CofC shot better than 80 percent from the free throw line for the 12th time this season going 20-for-25 from the charity stripe (80.0%) versus JMU.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"I'm really proud of our guys. We played with a lot of energy and effort tonight. It took us a while to get going. We haven't played since last Saturday. We made enough plays down the stretch and have been in enough tough games this season. We hustled and made big shots to win it at the end."
 
On playing against JMU's defense …
"That's how we play. We try to play physical, tough, rebound and defend. We actually like it to be ugly sometimes. Early on we had great opportunities in the paint. I think the fact that we haven't played in seven days and not often here (at North Charleston Coliseum), it took us a while offensively. Defensively, we like the games like that. Hopefully, we can build on the momentum as we continue to play in the tournament."
 
College of Charleston Sophomore Forward Jarrell Brantley
On building off the toughness endured from a close game against JMU …
"I would say so. Throughout the season, we all had our fights and tough games. We were built for these types of moments. Coach (Grant) does a good job of preparing us for them. We will be better off the rest of the tournament from this game."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey
On the game …
"You have to give them (James Madison) credit. They are a veteran team. They play really good defensively and are one of the top defenses in the league. That's what you expect when you play them. We knew that coming into the game. We made enough tough plays down the stretch and whatever we had to do to win the game, but give them a lot of credit."