#2 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (25-8) vs. #1 UNCW (28-5)
2017 CAA Men's Basketball Championship Finals
Game #34
March 6, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
North Charleston Coliseum (14,000)
at North Charleston, S.C.
 
Television: CBS Sports Network
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: UNCW Leads 12-11                                                                                                   
Last Meeting: CofC def. UNCW, 67-66, on Feb. 2, 2017 in Wilmington, N.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CAAStats.com
Live Video: None
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
CAA Championship Tickets: www.Ticketmaster.com
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 51-46
Third Year Overall: 51-46
UNCW: Kevin Keatts
Third Year at UNCW: 71-27
Third Year Overall: 71-27
 
TELEVISION (CBS Sports Network)
Play-By-Play: Dave Ryan
Color Analyst: Pete Gillen
Sideline Reporter: Melanie Collins
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
One more game stands in the path of the College of Charleston men's basketball team (25-8) dancing its way into March Madness under third-year head coach Earl Grant. The second-seeded Cougars will face top-seeded UNCW (28-5) in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game on Monday, March 6 at 7 p.m. (ET) at the North Charleston Coliseum. The title game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network (check your local cable and satellite listings). The winner will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. CofC has won nine of its last 11 games including the last six – playing its best basketball of the season. Redshirt junior guard Joe Chealey knocked down a game-high 29 points to lead the Cougars past Towson in the semifinals (67-59). The Cougars, who are holding opponents to a conference-best 63.7 points per game, will look to defend the league's top scoring offense (85.4 ppg) in UNCW. The Seahawks are the defending tournament champions, but both teams split the regular-season series winning on each other's home court.
 
A LOOK AT UNCW
The Seahawks have won eight of their last nine games including a high-scoring 105-94 victory over fourth-seeded William & Mary in the semifinals. UNCW is led by two All-CAA First Team selections in sophomore guard C.J. Bryce (17.5 ppg) and senior guard Chris Flemmings (16.0 ppg) – both rank in the Top 10 in scoring in the league.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
CofC will be gunning for its first conference tournament title since 1999 as members of the Southern Conference under legendary head coach John Kresse. The Cougars are 1-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games including a 1994 first-round loss to Wake Forest and Tim Duncan (58-68) in Lexington, Ky., a first-round win over Maryland (75-66) and second-round loss to eventual national champion Arizona (69-73) in Memphis, Tenn., a 1998 first-round loss to Stanford (67-57) in Chicago and a 1999 first-round loss to Tulsa (53-62) in Charlotte, N.C.
 
WHAT 2 WATCH 4
Jarrell Brantley is two boards away from recording 500 career rebounds in his young two-year career at The College. He currently has 498 to date including 118 on the offensive end. Joe Chealey is also three assists shy of dishing out the most assists in a single season in his career (107). 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 31-17 (.646) 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, 9-4 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. (17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 33.9 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (13.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 26.8 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 31.4 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 31.8 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (5.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 24.4 min)
 
PROJECTED UNCW STARTERS
#10 Denzel Ingram, G, 6-0, 175, RS-Sr. (14.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.5 apg, 33.3 min)
#12 C.J. Bryce, G, 6-5, 185, So. (17.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 34.1 min)
#00 Ambrose Mosley, G, 6-2, 185, Gr.-Sr. (8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 24.4 min)
#1 Chris Flemmings, G, 6-5, 175, RS-Sr. (16.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 34.5 min)
#15 Devontae Cacok, F, 6-7, 240, So. (12.2 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 0.4 apg, 25.6 min)
 
SERIES NOTES
UNCW leads 12-11 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Cougars snapped an eight-game skid in the series between the two Coastal schools winning a 67-66 road thriller on Feb. 2 in Wilmington, N.C. Three of the last nine games in the series have been decided in overtime and double overtime. Meanwhile, the last four contests have been decided in single digits. Prior to CofC's conference realignment, both programs previously met in non-conference play each year from the 2001-02 season through the 2008-09 season.
 
LAST 15 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 67-66, on 2/2/17 in Wilmington, N.C.
L, 59-65 on 1/19/17 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 64-66 on 3/5/16 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 55-59 (OT) on 2/20/16 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 55-65 on 1/30/16 in Wilmington, N.C.
L, 53-79 on 3/7/15 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 45-58 on 2/11/15 in Wilmington, N.C.
L, 56-58 (OT) on 1/21/15 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 55-57 (2OT) on 2/22/14 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 75-70 on 1/22/14 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 100-80 on 12/19/08 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 91-98 on 11/10/07 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 91-70 on 11/26/06 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 81-77 on 12/27/05 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 59-57 on 12/16/04 in Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament
 
TOWSON RECAP
College of Charleston 67, Towson 59
• With the win, College of Charleston evened the all-time series with Towson to 6-6. The Cougars have won four of the last five meetings between the two schools including the first postseason contest in the series.
• The Cougars are now 9-4 all-time in conference semifinal games since becoming a NCAA Division I member in 1991-92. They will vie for the program's first NCAA Tournament berth and conference tournament title since 1999 as members of the Southern Conference (lost to Tulsa in the first round).
• The Cougars turned in only their seventh 25-win campaign in the program's NCAA Division I history.
• CofC will make its first-ever appearance in the championship game as members of the Colonial since joining the league in 2013. The Cougars last advanced to the Southern Conference championship game in 2013 (lost to Davidson).
• Joe Chealey recorded his 13th game of the season with 20-or-more points with a game-high 29 points against Towson. He extended his double-digit scoring streak to a career-best 15 consecutive games.
• Jarrell Brantley has now scored in double figures in nine-straight games with 10 points and seven rebounds against Towson in the CAA semifinals.
• Grant Riller has now scored in double figures in 20-of-33 games played of the season registering 12 points and a career-high tying four assists versus Towson.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I believe it. That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to be in this position. The players worked so hard and assistant coaches put so much time into it. We were trying to get to this point and now we have a great opportunity tonight." – College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant on being one win away from the NCAA Tournament and believing in the process
 
 "We are thankful to have this opportunity to play in the championship game. UNCW is a great team. We both split in the regular season, so both teams know that we can win. That's kind of what you want in the championship game – to have the two top teams playing against each other. It will be a great atmosphere. We will look to make a few more plays." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on playing in the CAA championship game and how far the program has come