First Place On The Line As Cougars Travel To Northeastern

Thursday, February 1

Boston, Mass.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Northeastern

First Place On The Line As Cougars Travel To Northeastern

1/31/2018 5:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Northeastern Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (16-6, 7-3 CAA) vs. NORTHEASTERN (14-8, 7-3 CAA)
Game #23
February 1, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Matthews Arena (5,066)
at Boston, Mass.

Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: Northeastern Leads 5-4
Last Meeting: CofC def. Northeastern, 82-66, on Jan. 11, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.GoNUStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/northeastern/
Tickets: www.GoNU.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fourth Year at CofC: 67-54
Fourth Year Overall: 67-54
Northeastern: Bill Coen
12th Year at NU: 192-183
12th Year Overall: 192-183

TELEVISION (None)

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German

GAME PREVIEW
First place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings is on line as the College of Charleston men's basketball team (16-6, 7-3 CAA) travels to Northeastern (14-8, 7-3 CAA) in both teams' second meeting of the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Boston, Mass. Last week, the Huskies lost on the road at Drexel (67-68) on Jan. 27, while the Cougars beat James Madison at home (66-59) to set-up an important league matchup at historic Matthews Arena. William & Mary is also tied with CofC and NU at the top of the pack. The two-game CAA road swing also includes a rematch for the Cougars with fourth-place Hofstra (13-9, 6-4 CAA) on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Hempstead, N.Y. Charleston, currently on a league-best four-game streak, defeated both of this week's opponents at home earlier this season. Junior forward Jarrell Brantley led the Cougars with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds in the team's win over JMU, which extended their win streak to 13-straight and an 11-0 undefeated mark at TD Arena. They captured their first road win of the conference season last week at Delaware (62-54) on Jan. 25 and look to keep that trend going on their Northern excursion. Defensively, the Cougars have held each of their last two opponents to under 60 points per game – Delaware (54) and JMU (59). CofC is currently ranked No. 11 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – the only team represented in the short list from the Colonial.

NORTHEASTERN AT-A-GLANCE
Northeastern, who has received postseason billing by several publications this week as the CAA's representative in their NCAA Tournament bracket projections, has won four of its last five in league play. The Huskies' most impressive win in that stretch was a 20-point blowout of William & Mary (90-70) on the road in Williamsburg, Va. Like CofC, NU is looking to shake off a close one-point loss to Drexel, who has become a dangerous team this season at home. Redshirt junior guard Vasa Pusica continues to lead Northeastern in scoring averaging 16.0 points per game. He has turned in a 100-assist season (107) and ranks third in the league averaging 4.9 assists a game.

COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2017-18 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 from Matthews Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (18.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 35.3 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 195, So. (15.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 32.9 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 32.7 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, Jr. (15.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 30.8 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 260, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 26.5 min)

PROJECTED NORTHEASTERN STARTERS
#22 Donnell Gresham Jr., G, 6-1, 203, RS-So. (8.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 25.2 min)
#4 Vasa Pusica, G, 6-5, 210, RS-Jr. (16.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.9 apg, 32.9 min)
#1 Shawn Occeus, G, 6-4, 208, So. (10.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 28.3 min)
#14 Maxime Boursiquot, F, 6-5, 211, So. (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 19.2 min)
#30 Anthony Green, C, 6-10, 252, Jr. (5.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, 15.5 min)

WHAT 2 WATCH 4
Jarrell Brantley needs one more rebound to become only the 17th player in CofC's NCAA Division I and NAIA history to grab 600 rebounds in a career. He would also become one of only 12 players all-time to record 1,000 career points and 600 rebounds in a career at The College. Brantley (1,051) and senior guard Cameron Johnson (1,024) joined the 1,000 Career-Point Club against UNCW on Jan. 18 to become only the 36th and 35th all-time players (NCAA Division I and NAIA) respectively in school history to do so.

COFC ALL-TIME CAREER REBOUNDING LIST
1. Ken Gustafson (1971-75) - 1,484
2. Thaddeous Delaney (1993-97) - 1,119
3. John Drafts (1974-78) - 1,009
4. Jermaine Johnson (2006-09) - 949
5. Adjehi Baru (2011-15) - 916
6. Sam Meade (1970-74) - 846
7. Greg Mack (1981-85) - 842
8. Willis Hall (2009-14) - 843
9. Jody Lumpkin (1998-01) - 710
10. Kevan Elliott (1973-77) - 705
11. Antwaine Wiggins (2007-12) - 702
12. Sedric Webber (1996-99) - 694
13. Jeremy Simmons (2007-11) - 681
14. Trent Wiedeman (2010-13) - 650
15. Ahdonus Cofer (1988-92) - 615
16. Mike Benton (2000-04) - 613
17. Jarrell Brantley (2015-Present) - 599

MR. CLUTCH
Of any College of Charleston player you don't want to foul, it's Joe Chealey this season. In the team's last five games, he is 37-of-39 from the free throw line. Chealey went 10-for-10 against James Madison on Jan. 27, which marked the ninth time this season where he went perfect from the charity stripe – five of those nine performances from the line in conference play. Chealey currently ranks second in the CAA in free-throw percentage behind Ty Taylor of UNCW (24-of-26) in league games only.

A LOOK INSIDE THE SERIES
Northeastern leads 5-4 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Cougars have won the last two-straight meetings in the series and by double figures. Last season, both teams split the regular-season series with each winning on each other's home court. CofC claimed its second-ever win on the road in the series at Northeastern in both teams' last meeting (W, 85-71) on Feb. 18, 2017 at Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass.

LAST NINE GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 82-66 (+16) on Jan. 11, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 85-71 (+14) on Feb. 18, 2017 in Boston, Mass.
L, 72-73 (-1) on Feb. 9, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 57-58 (-1) on Feb. 25, 2016 in Boston, Mass.
W, 68-61 (+7) on Jan. 28, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 56-65 (-9) on Feb. 28, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 67-69 (-2) on Jan. 17, 2015 in Boston, Mass.
L, 44-60 (-16) on Feb. 15, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 58-49 (+9) on Jan. 13, 2014 in Boston, Mass.

JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 66, James Madison 59
• 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).

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I hope we can come in and execute our game plan to the best of our ability. Our players have to bring their own energy. They have to provide energy for each other by making winning plays and using their inner strength. All of these games are challenging and important. You just have to find a way to compete at a high level. The last time we played them, it was a hard game. They are a very good team with a very good coach. Again, we have to challenge shots, eliminate easy baskets, adjust in the game and not give them looks. They are always a good team and present a great challenge. It's late January and early February. I don't know what good conference isn't, where games aren't a challenge at this point of the year. We certainly will have to play very well." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the important matchup with Northeastern and first place on the line

"Jarrell (Brantley) has always been an energy and good defensive guy. He blocks shots, gets his hands on the ball and just makes plays. Now that he is back, it certainly has helped our defense from a rebounding standpoint. He's another big body out there that can defend multiple guys. We haven't peaked, because we are still a young team after having him out of the lineup for the first 10 games of the season. We are starting to make some progress. The next two-to-three weeks, we should be getting closer to our peak. We still have a lot of room to grow right now." – Coach Grant on the team adjusting to having Jarrell Brantley back in the lineup during conference play

"Offensively, they (Northeastern) are a really good ballclub. They have a good offensive system. Defensively, they try to stick it to you and we just have to play our best on both sides of the ball." – Junior Forward Jarrell Brantley on the rematch with Northeastern