CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four players scored in double figures as College of Charleston held off Presbyterian College, 85-73, in its season opener on Tuesday night at TD Arena.
 
Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team selection Grant Riller scored a game-high 27 points as the Cougars (1-0) have now won 17-straight games on their home court since the end of the 2016-17 season. It is currently the third-longest home-court winning streak in the nation.
 
Jarrell Brantley turned in a double-double performance with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while newcomers Zep Jasper and Isaih Moore registered 15 and 13 points respectively in their collegiate debuts.
 
Presbyterian took an early 12-4 lead on two made three-pointers from Francois Lewis. CofC would sharpen up its defense and close the gap midway through the first half.
 
Brevin Galloway drained a three-pointer to give the Cougars a 21-20 lead with 8:22 remaining until the break. Moore followed with a dunk and CofC never trailed after going into halftime up, 36-30.
 
CofC is now 5-0 in season openers in the Earl Grant Era. It was the first meeting between the Cougars and Blue Hose (0-1) since 1996. PC was led by Lewis' 21 points.
 
The Cougars travel to Western Carolina for an old Southern Conference reunion game on Saturday, Nov. 10 at noon (ET) in Cullowhee, N.C.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris. It marked the first career starts for Jasper and Galloway.
• With the win, the Cougars have now won seven-straight meetings in the all-time series with Presbyterian College. It was the first meeting for both schools since 1996.
• CofC is now 16-2 all-time in home openers since its first season as a NCAA Division I member in 1991-92. In the Earl Grant Era, the Cougars are a perfect 5-0 in season openers.
• Grant Riller registered a game-high 27 points including 7-of-8 made free throws against Presbyterian. It marked his 18th career 20-point outing.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his 24th career double-double with 19 points and game-high 14 rebounds versus Presbyterian.
• Redshirt freshman Zep Jasper scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in his collegiate debut.
• Freshman Isaih Moore came off the bench and tallied 13 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of action against Presbyterian. He also made one of the team's six three-pointers on the night.
• The Cougars have now won 17-straight games at TD Arena since the end of the 2016-17 season.
• The November 6th game against PC marked the earliest start in program history.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"I thought we played with a lot of energy and effort tonight. We had a lot of offensive rebounds, blocked shots, deflections and steals that led to some offense. I was really pleased with our effort. Our bench and our young guys gave us an unbelievable boost. I am just really proud of players for their effort and energy. Certainly, we have to clean up some things. We had some breakdowns on defense and we spotted them (Presbyterian) 12 points in the first minute with their five-man making three threes. I thought after we got through that two-minute thrashing, we really hunkered down and guarded them pretty well."
 
On the contributions of freshman Isaih Moore off the bench …
"He is active. He kind of focuses on the right things – blocked shots, runs the floor, deflections and rebounds. The ball finds him. He is in the right place at the right time and getting big rebounds. Usually when you come off the bench, and you get two-or three offensive rebounds and a steal or two, that is energy. That is fueling the bench and the guys who are resting, it gets them excited to come back into the game."
 
College of Charleston Junior Guard Grant Riller
On the game …
"It's been a while since we have been able to step on the court and play a game. Like Jarrell (Brantley) said, we had a couple of new guys who played in their first game. It was good for them to get the experience and good for us overall to get back on the court."
 
On being pushed in the second half by Presbyterian …
"Definitely, this was a test for all of us, not just the young guys. We've been in a lot of those situations in the past. Just to get into one of those situations early will help us out a lot down the road."
 
College of Charleston Senior Forward Jarrell Brantley
On the game …
"We did pretty well tonight. We were swarming around and getting deflections. We had a lot of our young guys get some playing time, so that's always good to see. We played so well as a team. There were a lot of good things to take from this (game)."
 
On the inside play of freshman Isaih Moore …
"Isaih is a high-level athlete. He is really active. He has the heart of a lion. He attacks me every day in practice, so I wasn't surprised at all to see him play like that tonight. There's nothing that will let him back down. Same for Zep (Jasper) and all of the rest of the younger guys. They just have so much heart. You don't know what day they will step-up and give you a big game. I expect a lot those from them this season."