CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jarrell Brantley knocked down a game-high 21 points to lead College of Charleston to a 66-59 victory over James Madison on Saturday at TD Arena.
 
With the win, the Cougars (16-6, 7-3 CAA) move into a tie for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with Northeastern (14-8, 7-3 CAA), their next opponent on Feb. 1 in Boston, Mass.
 
Brantley went 8-of-15 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Joe Chealey with 19 and Cameron Johnson with 11.
 
CofC and JMU were tied 30-30 at halftime and the score remained close throughout the second half. Big three-pointers by Johnson at the 6:50 minute mark and Grant Riller with 59 seconds remaining in regulation sealed the win for the Cougars, who remain an undefeated 11-0 at home this season.
 
The Dukes (6-17, 2-8 CAA) dropped their second-straight on the road in a pair of close calls at Charleston and UNCW. They were led in scoring by 17 from leading scorer Stuckey Mosley.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 10th-straight CAA game, the College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Joe Chealey, Grant Riller, Cameron Johnson, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris.
• With the win, College of Charleston extends its win streak to four-consecutive games in the all-time series with James Madison. The Cougars now lead the series, 7-4, and are 4-2 in the series on their home court.
• CofC remains an undefeated 11-0 at home this season at TD Arena and has won 13-straight since the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season with a game-high 21 points versus James Madison. It marked his fifth 20-point outing this year and 12th of his career. He has now tabulated 1,051 career points to date and was close to a double-double with eight rebounds.
• Joe Chealey has now scored in double figures in 21-of-22 games this season with 19 points including a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line against James Madison. It marked the ninth time this season that he has gone perfect from the charity stripe in a single game. He continues to climb the all-time career scoring list with 1,625 career points to date which ranks fifth most in school history.
• Cameron Johnson turned in his ninth double-figure scoring game this season with 11 points against James Madison. He drained a season-high tying three 3-pointers and also grabbed four rebounds. Johnson has tabulated 1,024 career points to date.
• Nick Harris played 34 minutes and registered seven points and team-high tying eight rebounds versus JMU.
• The CofC defense held James Madison to its second-lowest scoring output of the season (59 points).
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"It was a great defensive effort by our players. Certainly, I thought we did a great job of defending and taking care of the ball with only six turnovers. We always believe if we defend and take care of the ball, we have a chance to win. I'm really proud of our guys for staying the course by working at it and playing together. It was a great all-around effort."
 
On the play of Jarrell Brantley …
"He played well. The exciting thing about where we are right now. If 10 is a number we want to get to at the end, we are only at a 6, because Jarrell (Brantley) missed 10 games. He is starting to find his rhythm. His teammates are starting to figure out who we are with him back in the lineup. The rotation with the sub guys coming off the bench – they are starting to figure out when they are going to get their minutes. It's exciting, because we are a very young team in terms of where we can get to at the end. But, we have a lot more room to grow."
 
College of Charleston Senior Guard Cameron Johnson
On the difference between the first and second halves …
"They (James Madison) got started off really well for the first four minutes. Pretty much the whole (first) half and we had to get our footing. In the second half, we made adjustments and we were a little more aggressive on defense and offense attacking them. We just stayed with it. We are really resilient and a veteran team. We made adjustments and came out and played our style of ball."