Cougars and Tigers To Tangle In First-Time Meeting

Sunday, November 25

Orlando, Fla.

6:30 PM

College of Charleston

Memphis

11/24/2018 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (4-2, 0-0 CAA) vs. MEMPHIS (3-2, 0-0 American)
Game #7
AdvoCare Invitational Fifth-Place Game
November 25, 2018 • 6:30 p.m. (ET)
HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (5,000)
at Orlando, Fla.

Television: ESPNU
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: None
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.advocare.statbroadcast.com
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fifth Year at CofC: 81-58
Fifth Year Overall: 81-58
Memphis: Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
First Year at Memphis: 3-2
First Year Overall: 3-2

TELEVISION (ESPNU)
Play-By-Play: Mike Morgan
Color Analyst: Tim Welsh

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

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (4-2) will close out tournament play at the AdvoCare Invitational with a first-time meeting with Memphis (3-2) in the fifth-place game to be held on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. (ET) at HP Field House. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU. For the first time of his career, preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team selection Grant Riller led the Cougars in all stat categories in the team's 74-51 win over UAB on Friday with a game-high 33 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. It was quite the homecoming for the Orlando native, who recorded the second-most points in a single game in tournament history in front of his family and friends. CofC clicked on offense shooting a season-best 55.8% from the field and defensively holding the Blazers to an opponent season-low 51 points. Meanwhile, Memphis defeated Canisius, 71-63, in the consolation round to avoid the seventh-place game. Both teams' two losses on the season have come at the hands of Oklahoma State and LSU. CofC played a non-bracketed game of the tournament at OSU (L, 58-70) on Nov. 18, while Memphis played at LSU (L, 76-85) on Nov. 13. The Cougars look to go 2-1 at the tournament, before returning home to Charleston for a three-game homestand against South Carolina State (Nov. 28), Charlotte (Dec. 1) and Georgia College (Dec. 9) at TD Arena.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
Memphis is under the direction of first-year head coach, alum and former NBA star Penny Hardaway. The Tigers lost to Oklahoma State (84-64) in the opening round of the tournament, but got back in the win column against Canisius in the consolation round on Friday. UofM has three players currently averaging double figures including leading scorer and rebounder Kyvon Davenport, who is averaging 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. With one of the conference's top recruiting classes, the Tigers were picked to finish fourth in the preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll behind UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.

ADVOCARE INVITATIONAL BRACKET
Game 1: Villanova vs. Canisius on Thursday, November 22 at 1:30 p.m.
Game 2: Oklahoma State vs. Memphis on Thursday, November 22 at 4:00 pm.
Game 3: College of Charleston vs. LSU on Thursday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.
Game 4: UAB vs. Florida State on Thursday, November 22 at 9:30 p.m.
Game 5: Villanova vs. Oklahoma State on Friday, November 23 at 11:30 a.m.
Game 6: Canisius vs. Memphis on Friday, November 23 at 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: LSU vs. Florida State on Friday, November 23 at 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: College of Charleston vs. UAB on Friday, November 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: Canisius vs. UAB (7th Place Game) on Sunday, November 25 at 10:30 a.m.
Game 10: Villanova vs. Florida State (Championship Game) on Sunday, November 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: Oklahoma State vs. LSU (3rd Place Game) on Sunday, November 25 at 4:00 p.m.
Game 12: Memphis vs. Charleston (5th Place Game) on Sunday, November 25 at 6:30 p.m.

COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2018-19 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM and 94.7 FM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Everett German will call the action live from HP Field House.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, RS-Fr. (7.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 32.0 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (18.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.3 apg, 36.0 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 26.3 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 34.7 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (0.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 18.8 min)

PROJECTED MEMPHIS STARTERS
#3 Jeremiah Martin, G, 6-3, 185, Sr. (14.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 34.6 min)
#2 Alex Lomax, G, 5-10, 190, Fr. (6.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 25.8 min)
#1 Tyler Harris, G, 5-9, 150, Fr. (11.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 29.6 min)
#4 Raynere Thornton, G, 6-6, 230, Sr. (5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 21.6 min)
#10 Mike Parks Jr., F, 6-8, 250, Sr. (8.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 13.0 min)

COUGAR SIDEBARS
• College of Charleston's Jarrell Brantley reunites with Memphis senior point guard Jeremiah Martin. They both met while attending an Athletics In Action Leadership Camp in the summer of 2017 in Ohio.

• Memphis Head Coach Penny Hardaway played against former College of Charleston star Anthony Johnson throughout their professional playing careers in the NBA. Both also played for the Orlando Magic franchise – Hardaway from 1993-99 and Johnson in 2000 and 2008-10. Johnson, a two-time Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention selection, was the program's first NBA Draft Pick selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round (40th overall) in 1997.

• The Cougars are 1-2 over the last two years against American Athletic Conference foes. They last beat an AAC school in a 53-35 road victory at East Carolina on Dec. 15, 2016, but fell at No. 6-ranked Wichita State (81-63) during the 2017-18 season in Wichita, Kan.

UAB RECAP
College of Charleston 74, UAB 51
• College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (4-2).
• With the win, CofC remains an undefeated 2-0 in the all-time series with UAB. Both teams last met in the opening round of the 1994 Puerto Rico Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Grant Riller recorded a season-and game-high 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field versus UAB. He also tied career highs in rebounds (6) and assists (6). It marked his sixth career 30-point game and third double-figure game this season. It was also the second-most points scored in a single game in tournament history.
• Jarrell Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games with 15 points against UAB. He also went 2-for-2 from the free throw line and is 10-for-10 over the last three-consecutive games.
• The Cougars shot a season-best 55.8 percent from the field (29-of-52) against UAB – the second time this season to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor next to 53.7% at Western Carolina on Nov. 10.
• Jaylen McManus came off the bench and contributed seven points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of action versus UAB.
• Quan McCluney appeared in his first Cougar game and scored the first points of his collegiate career on a fastbreak layup with 2:49 remaining in the first half of play.
• CofC made seven steals versus UAB – the second most in a single game this season.
• The Cougar defense also held UAB to an opponent season-low 51 points including 18 in the first half.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We will give our guys some time to enjoy Disney World on the off day. Some have never been to that park and it will be a good experience for them. At the same time, we have to prepare. The tournament isn't over. We will prepare a little on Saturday and talk about the things that will be important in that matchup. They (Memphis) are another athletic team. We have an amazing opportunity coming up on Sunday and it will be another challenge for us." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's final two days in Orlando

"He (Jaylen McManus) is going to be a big part of our scheme as we try to attempt to have success this year. He is going to be a big piece to it and can be an X-Factor for us. With him working his way back on the roster, he has only been back the last two-or-three weeks, we are trying to find ways to get him involved in our offense. He is a really big kid at the three position and he played well tonight." – Coach Grant on the contributions from his bench including junior forward Jaylen McManus with seven points and four rebounds versus UAB

"They (Memphis) are well coached and have a lot of great players. We will come up with a good game plan and study film in preparation for them on Sunday. We will get back to work tomorrow." – Junior Guard Grant Riller on Memphis