Two-Game Road Swing Kicks Off With Drexel On Friday

Friday, January 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Drexel

Two-Game Road Swing Kicks Off With Drexel On Friday

1/4/2018 5:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Drexel Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (11-3, 2-0 CAA) vs. DREXEL (6-9, 0-2 CAA)
Game #15
January 5, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,509)
at Philadelphia, Pa.

Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 7-4
Last Meeting: CofC def. Drexel, 80-67, on Feb. 25, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.DrexelStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video via CAA.tv at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/caa/
Tickets: www.DrexelDragons.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fourth Year at CofC: 62-51
Fourth Year Overall: 62-51
Drexel: Zach Spiker
Second Year at Drexel: 15-32
Ninth Year Overall: 117-144

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
A two-game Colonial Athletic Association road swing for the College of Charleston men's basketball team (11-3, 2-0 CAA) will kick off with Drexel (6-9, 0-2 CAA) on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. (ET) at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The Cougars improved to 2-0 in conference play with a 93-78 victory over Delaware on Jan. 2 to currently sit atop of the league standings with William & Mary and Elon. They will also face Towson on the same trip in a rematch separated by nine days on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. (ET) in Towson, Md. CofC has won four in a row and will play three games in a span of six short days this week that will test the league favorite's endurance. Meanwhile, the Dragons are looking to snap a three-game losing skid. For the Cougars, preseason CAA Player of the Year Joe Chealey knocked down a game-high 29 points and preseason All-CAA First Team selection Jarrell Brantley 26 in the team's last outing versus the Blue Hens. CofC turned in its best offensive performance of the season shooting a season-high 66.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc against Delaware. Look for both squads in the next matchup to challenge each other's shots as Charleston ranks No. 2 in the CAA in field-goal percentage defense (41.2%) and Drexel No. 4 (45.4%). They also rank No. 3 and No. 4 in blocked shots per game – Drexel (4.1) and CofC (3.7). Aside from UNCW, the Cougars are the only other league team to have two players amongst the Top 10 in scoring in Chealey (6th, 18.0 ppg) and preseason All-CAA Second Team selection Grant Riller (7th, 16.9 ppg).

A LOOK AT DREXEL
After playing on the road for its first two league games, the Dragons will play three of their next four at home where they are 4-1 on the season with victories over Arcadia, Lafayette, Rider and Quinnipiac. Drexel is looking to shake off a 107-87 loss at UNCW on Jan. 2 and a 90-75 setback at Elon on Dec. 30. The Dragons are using a balanced scoring attack this year with five players currently averaging double figures including 19.5 points per game from junior guard Tremaine Isabell off the bench.

ROAD WARRIORS
Last year, the Cougars posted a 7-2 record on the road in league play with their lone losses in the season at Towson in overtime (77-83) on Jan. 26, 2017 in Towson, Md., and at William & Mary (79-89) on Feb. 11, 2017 in Williamsburg, Va. They claimed their first-ever road wins a year ago at Delaware, Drexel, UNCW and Hofstra since joining the Colonial in July of 2013.

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 the Daskalakis Athletic Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (18.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 34.9 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 195, So. (16.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 32.2 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 33.0 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, Jr. (16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 27.3 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 260, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.4 apg, 26.1 min)

PROJECTED DREXEL STARTERS
#1 Kurk Lee, G, 5-9, 150, So. (14.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.9 apg, 38.3 min)
#3 Troy Harper, G, 6-1, 175, Jr. (12.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 25.0 min)
#5 Austin Williams, F, 6-8, 245, Sr. (10.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 30.3 min)
#15 Sammy Mojica, G, 6-3, 195, Sr. (12.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 37.2 min)
#30 Alihan Demir, F, 6-9, 223, So. (10.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 33.4 min)

SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston leads 7-4 in the all-time series with Drexel. Last year, the Cougars swept the regular-season series for the first time since becoming members of the Colonial. They have won the last three-straight meetings with the Dragons including their last trip to the DAC (W, 90-76) on Jan. 28, 2017 in Philadelphia.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 80-67 (+13) on Feb. 25, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 90-76 (+14) on Jan. 28, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 60-38 (+22) on Feb. 6, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 54-61 (-7) on Jan. 9, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 56-48 (+8) on March 6, 2015 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 45-59 (-14) on Feb. 7, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 51-53 (-2) on Jan. 24, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pa.
L, 45-56 (-11) on Feb. 26, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 47-46 (+1) on Feb. 13, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 75-65 (+10) on Dec. 28, 1996 in North Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament

DELAWARE RECAP
College of Charleston 93, Delaware 78
• For the second time this season, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Joe Chealey, Grant Riller, Cameron Johnson, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris.
• With the win, College of Charleston takes a 7-5 lead in the all-time series with Delaware. The Cougars have now won four-straight in the series after sweeping the Blue Hens in the regular season a year ago.
• Joe Chealey turned in a game-high 29 points against Delaware and surpassed former CofC great Steven Johnson (1,456) for a spot in the Top 10 among the all-time leading scorers in program history. He has now tabulated 1,468 career points to date which ranks 10th. It marked his fifth game this season with 20 points-or-more in a single game.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded a season-high 26 points versus Delaware and led the Cougars with six rebounds. It marked his second-straight game in double figures and ninth career 20-point outing.
• For the second-straight game, CofC had two players score 20 points in Joe Chealey (29 points) and Jarrell Brantley (26 points). The duo combined for 55 of the team's 93 points in the ballgame.
• Marquise Pointer came off the bench and contributed a season-high 14 points versus Delaware. He also added five rebounds in the winning cause.
• Grant Riller extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight-consecutive games with 18 points against Delaware.
• It marked the fourth time this season that the Cougars had four-or-more players in double figures in a single game. They previously had four players in double figures against High Point on Dec. 4 and five players in double figures versus North Greenville on Dec. 10.
• CofC registered its highest-scoring output of the season with 93 points versus Delaware, which bested a 92-point performance against North Greenville on Dec. 10.
• The Cougars shot a season-high 66.7 percent from the field (32-of-48) and a season-best 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (9-of-18) against Delaware. They last shot better than 60 percent from the field at Northeastern (62.7%) on Feb. 18, 2017 in Boston, Mass.
• CofC shot 70.4 percent from the floor in the second half and nearly broke the school NCAA Division I record for highest field-goal percentage of 68.6 percent versus Charleston Southern on Jan. 14, 1993 and all-time school record (NAIA and NCAA) of 70.0 percent versus The Citadel on Jan. 13, 1987.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We have Drexel next and that's what we are focused on first. We haven't played them yet and it's another improved program. (Drexel Head Coach) Zach Spiker does a great job and he has a good team. They lost to UNCW, but, it doesn't matter. It's the next game and I'm sure they will give us their best shot. We will have to be ready to play them on Friday. Hopefully, the weather will allow us to get out (to Philadelphia)." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's two-game road swing to Drexel and Towson this weekend

"The last two months, we have talked about the fact that we have to embrace that people are going to come after us. There's a target (on our back). When you are picked at the bottom of the league, a lot of times you can slip-in and win a game. When you are picked at the top of the league, everyone knows you are at the top. They are excited to play you. For us, we can embrace it, but the most important thing is we need to make sure we bring our A-game, so we don't go into a building where we're not ready to play and the team is treating it like a Super Bowl. That's a new challenge for us. We've never experienced it before. We have always been down at the bottom looking to climb out of a hole. Now, we have to much sure we are ready to play every night." – Coach Grant on getting each team in the league's best game as the preseason favorite

"I feel like we stayed in character. I think as the year goes on, we will get better, and hopefully, we will keep it up. We trusted each other, were unselfish with the ball and didn't do anything out of character. I don't know if we will have that high of a (shooting) percentage, but hopefully, we will continue to make shots." – Junior Forward Jarrell Brantley on the team's offensive performance and shooting percentage against Delaware

"Just like anyone in this league, you can't take anybody for granted. They (Drexel) are a really tough team and will fight until the end. But, we expect that from every team in the CAA. I wouldn't expect anything less." – Brantley on the matchup at Drexel

"Hopefully, we can get up there with the (threat of) snow. It's the CAA. Every team is good and will be gunning for you. You know it will be a battle night-in and night-out. Drexel is next up. They always play you tough and hard, especially at their place. We are looking forward to the challenge." – Senior Guard Joe Chealey on traveling to Drexel and Towson this weekend