Cougars To Tangle With Tigers In CAA Semifinals

Sunday, March 5

North Charleston, S.C.

4:30 PM

College of Charleston

Towson

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3/5/2017 4:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball

CAA Semifinals Game Notes

#2 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (24-8) vs. #3 TOWSON (20-12)
2017 CAA Men's Basketball Championship Semifinals
Game #33
March 5, 2017 • 4:30 p.m. (ET)
North Charleston Coliseum (14,000)
at North Charleston, S.C.

Television: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: Towson Leads 6-5
Last Meeting: Towson def. CofC, 83-77 (OT), on Jan. 26, 2017 in Towson, Md.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CAAStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video via CAA.tv at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/caa/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
CAA Championship Tickets: www.Ticketmaster.com

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 50-46
Third Year Overall: 50-46
Towson: Pat Skerry
Sixth Year at Towson: 96-99
Eighth Year Overall: 120-124

TELEVISION (Comcast SportsNet)
Play-By-Play: Al Koken
Color Analyst: John Feinstein
Sideline Reporter: Rob Carlin

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson

GAME PREVIEW
The second-seeded College of Charleston men's basketball team (24-8) is on a roll and has won its last five-straight games including a 67-62 thriller over seventh-seeded James Madison in the quarterfinals of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship on March 4. The Cougars are in unchartered territory as they make their first-ever appearance in the CAA Semifinals after having only joined the league four years ago in 2013. They will take on third-seeded Towson (20-12) on Sunday, March 5 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) at the North Charleston Coliseum. The game will be televised live regionally on Comcast SportsNet. Check your local listings. CofC survived a low-scoring, defensive slugfest with JMU as both teams shot 40 percent from the field and struggled from behind the arc. The Cougars made up for their shooting woes from the free throw line going 20-of-25 (80.0%) and an improved 51.9 percent from the floor in the second half. For the third-consecutive game, sophomore forward and All-CAA Second Team selection Jarrell Brantley turned in another double-double performance with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Redshirt junior guard and All-CAA First Team selection Joe Chealey also came up big with a team-high 21 points against the Dukes. CofC went 3-3 (split with UNCW, William & Mary and Towson) against the remaining schools in the tournament field during the regular season, while the Tigers went 2-4 (split with W&M, but lost both home and away to UNCW).

EYEING THE TIGERS
Towson has won 12 of its last 15 games of the season with road losses at Northeastern, UNCW and William & Mary. Nine of those 15 contests were decided in single digits. The Tigers advanced to the semifinals with an 82-54 rout of sixth-seeded Northeastern in the quarterfinals giving them their fourth all-time 20-win campaign as a NCAA Division I program. Junior guard Mike Morsell, the team's leading scorer averaging 13.6 points per game, is an All-CAA Third Team selection.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
CofC will be gunning for its first championship game appearance since 2013 and first as members of the Colonial. CAA Coach of the Year Earl Grant claimed career win No. 50 in the quarterfinal victory over James Madison. One more win would give the Cougars a 25-win season – the program's most victories since 2011 (26-11). It would also mark only the seventh time in the school's NCAA Division I history (since 1991-92) to record a 25-win campaign.

WHAT 2 WATCH 4
Jarrell Brantley is nine boards away from recording 500 career rebounds in his young two-year career at The College. He currently has 491 to date including 117 on the offensive end. Joe Chealey is also six assists shy of dishing out the most assists in a single season in his career (104). He distributed 109 during the 2014-15 season and redshirted last year due to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the preseason.

COUGARS ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PLAY
College of Charleston is 30-17 (.638) all-time in conference tournament play as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) from 1993-98, Southern Conference from 1998-2013 and Colonial from 2013-Present. The Cougars gained NCAA Division I status during the 1991-92 season. They are 6-2 all-time in first-round games, 13-6 in quarterfinal games, 8-4 in semifinal games and 3-5 in championship games. CofC has played in the conference tournament championship game twice in the last seven years as members of the SoCon in 2011 (lost to Wofford) and 2013 (lost to Davidson). The Cougars won the TAAC regular-season title as first year members of the league in 1994 and won the SoCon regular-season and tournament title as first year members in 1999 – the program's last NCAA Tournament berth.

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 will call the action live with color analyst Danny Johnson from the North Charleston Coliseum on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (17.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 33.8 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (13.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 26.6 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 31.5 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (14.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 31.8 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (6.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 0.3 apg, 24.3 min)

PROJECTED TOWSON STARTERS
#22 Brian Starr, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 24.3 min)
#23 Mike Morsell, G, 6-5, 215, Jr. (13.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 27.1 min)
#3 Deshaun Morman, F, 6-3, 195, Jr. (10.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 25.9 min)
#24 Arnaud William Adala Moto, F, 6-7, 245, Sr. (12.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 26.2 min)
#44 Alex Thomas, C, 6-9, 250, So. (3.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.4 apg, 16.0 min)

SERIES HISTORY
Towson leads 6-5 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. Both teams split the regular-season series with the Tigers winning the last meeting in overtime (83-77) on Jan. 26 in Towson, Md. The series first began in 2004 and this will be the first time both teams will have met in postseason tournament play.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 77-83 (OT) on Jan. 26, 2017 in Towson, Md.
W, 62-57 on Jan. 5, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-47 on Feb. 4, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 40-37 on Jan. 21, 2016 in Towson, Md.
L, 50-53 on Feb. 15, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 70-74 on Jan. 29, 2015 in Towson, Md.
L, 61-68 (OT) on Feb. 8, 2014 in Towson, Md.
L, 57-72 on Jan. 19, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 75-58 on Nov. 9, 2012 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 75-86 on Jan. 2, 2006 in Charleston, S.C.

COUGARS ALL-TIME AT THE NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM
The Cougars are 35-10 all-time (.778) when playing games at the North Charleston Coliseum since 1993. They last played in the venue against NCAA Division II Anderson in a regular-season game (W, 59-45) on Dec. 11, 2016. CofC is 9-6 all-time when playing a conference tournament game at the North Charleston Coliseum as former members of the Southern Conference including one championship game appearance against Davidson (L, 65-72) in 2007.

JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 67, James Madison 62
• 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.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"They (James Madison) made shots. It's March Madness. Every game is going to be tough. Everyone has great players. It's a tough league. They had seven seniors and it was their last shot at it. They gave us a great shot. Guys played well. We contested most of their shots. They got some open ones. They made some plays and it was a game of runs. We didn't respond negatively to the runs. We just stayed with it and found a way to win." – College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant on trying to contain JMU after having a 10-point lead

"We are just glad we are still playing and advanced. We haven't been in the semifinals before. It's a great opportunity for us to play whoever we play tomorrow in the semifinals." – Coach Grant on which team he would prefer to play in the semis

"It's March Madness. The pressure is high. We know it's win or go home. But, at the same time, you try to get control of your emotions and just go play basketball. This is what we love to do. It's a little different playing in March, and we know what the stakes are, but that's what makes basketball fun at this time." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on the survive and advance mentality of the tournament

"We had guys stepped up and knocked them down. I know we were talking about the shooting, but at the same time, we had guys step up and make timely shots. Grant (Riller) made a big three and Cam (Johnson) had a floater late in the game. We all talk about sight lines (in the coliseum), but we made shots when it counted. I'm just proud to be on this team and that we found a way to win." – Chealey on the team knocking down their free throws to keep the Cougars in the game aside from their shooting from the field and three