Cougars Trek To Upstate New York To Take On Siena

Tuesday, December 18

Albany, N.Y.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Siena

12/17/2018 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Siena Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (9-2, 0-0 CAA) vs. SIENA (4-6, 0-0 MAAC)
Game #12
December 18, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Times Union Center (10,420)
at Albany, N.Y.

Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: CofC def. Siena, 68-60 (OT), on Nov. 10, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at https://sienasaints.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video: Free Live Video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/siena/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fifth Year at CofC: 86-58
Fifth Year Overall: 86-58
Siena: Jamion Christian
First Year at Siena: 4-6
Seventh Year Overall: 105-101

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (9-2) treks to Upstate New York to take on Siena (4-6) with a six-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Albany, N.Y. It will be another tough road environment for the Cougars as the Saints play their home games off-campus at Times Union Center in Downtown Albany where they have averaged 5,253 fans per game this season. This will be the second all-time meeting between both schools next to last year's season-opening 68-60 win over the Saints in overtime at TD Arena. CofC is looking to continue its winning ways on its five-day road trip away from the Palmetto State. Reigning Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Week Jarrell Brantley turned in a 26-point and 17-rebound performance to propel the Cougars to an 83-79 road victory at VCU on Dec. 15 in Richmond, Va. CofC has been unstoppable behind its dynamic scoring duo of Brantley and junior guard Grant Riller, who notched a game-high 30 points against the Rams. Riller currently ranks No. 19 nationally averaging 22.6 points per game, while Brantley ranks No. 47 (20.2 ppg). Charleston has topped the 80-point scoring output mark in three of its last four outings. Defensively, the Cougars will also look to defend a Siena squad that likes to shoot it from long range averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game this season. Both schools will play host to their respective conference championships (CAA and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in March.

A LOOK AT SIENA
Under the leadership of first-year head coach Jamion Christian, the Saints have won two of their last three contests including wins versus Harvard (67-64) on Dec. 1 and on the road at Robert Morris (74-71) on Dec. 8. Like the Cougars, Siena rarely turns over the ball averaging 9.9 turnovers game, which ranks seventh-fewest in the nation. Only three players who played in last year's overtime game at Charleston are on this year's roster – Evan Fisher, Kadeem Smithen and Sammy Friday IV. Freshman point guard Jalen Pickett is averaging a team-leading 15.7 points and 6.8 assists per game. He also leads the MAAC with a 2.72 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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 the Times Union Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, RS-Fr. (7.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 27.9 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (22.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.3 apg, 36.5 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (9.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 27.7 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (20.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 33.9 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (2.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.3 apg, 20.5 min)

PROJECTED SIENA STARTERS
#22 Jalen Pickett, G, 6-4, 190, Fr. (15.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.8 apg, 36.3 min)
#3 Manny Camper, 6-6, 208, So. (6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 25.3 min)
#35 Sammy Friday IV, F, 6-9, 239, Jr. (6.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.3 apg, 14.6 min)
#23 Sloan Seymour, F, 6-9, 205, Fr. (9.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 24.8 min)
#34 Kevin Degnan, F, 6-9, 220, RS-Sr. (10.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 29.2 min)

COUGARS AGAINST THE MAAC
CofC is 10-3 all-time versus opponents hailing from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference including prior contests with Canisius (2-0), Fordham (2-0), Holy Cross (2-0), Marist (1-1), Rider (1-1) and Saint Peter's (1-1).

MAKING EVERY SHOT COUNT
The Cougars currently rank No. 44 nationally in free-throw percentage (74.7%) with 186 free throws made (No. 33) this season. They made a season-best 25-of-33 free throw attempts at VCU on Dec. 15. CofC has made every shot count at the free throw line over the last five games versus Memphis (17-of-21) on Nov. 25, South Carolina State (21-of-30) on Nov. 28, Charlotte (18-of-21) on Dec. 1 and Georgia College (20-of-24) on Dec. 9. Grant Riller is the team's best free-throw shooter converting 60-of-72 (83.3%) this year from the line followed by Jarrell Brantley (79.0%) and freshman guard Jaylen Richard (76.2%).

ROAD WARRIORS
College of Charleston picked up a signature non-conference road win at VCU (Atlantic 10) on Dec. 15 – one of six in the last decade for the program. The Cougars previously upset No. 21-ranked Baylor (Big 12) during the 2012-13 season, Tennessee (SEC) during the 2010-11 season, Clemson (ACC) during the 2011-12 season, former Southern Conference rival Davidson (Atlantic 10) during the 2013-14 season and perennial mid-major power Vermont (America East) during the 2012-13 season. CofC is 2-1 on the road this year with its lone loss at Oklahoma State on Nov. 18.

TOP NON-CONFERENCE ROAD WINS IN THE LAST DECADE
1. CofC at Tennessee on 12/31/10 in Knoxville, Tenn. (Attendance: 17,794)
2. CofC at No. 21 Baylor on 11/24/12 in Waco, Texas (Attendance: 5,768)
3. CofC at VCU on 12/15/18 in Richmond, Va. (Attendance: 7,637)
4. CofC at Clemson on 11/19/11 in Clemson, S.C. (Attendance: 6,325)
5. CofC at Davidson on 1/1/14 in Davidson, N.C. (Attendance: 3,816)
6. CofC at Vermont on 12/29/12 in Burlington, Vt. (Attendance: 2,253)

VCU RECAP
College of Charleston 83, VCU 79
• For the 11th-consecutive game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (9-2).
• With the win, College of Charleston has now beaten two Atlantic 10 Conference opponents this season in VCU and Rhode Island. The Cougars picked up only their second win and first on the road in the all-time series which VCU still leads 4-2.
• Grant Riller registered his third 30-point game of the season with a game-high 30 points at VCU. He has now turned in eight 30-point games in his career and extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games. It moved him into 17th all-time in scoring with 1,321 career points to date.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his third double-double of the season and in back-to-back games with 26 points and a career-high 17 rebounds at VCU. It marked his 26th career double-double. He also added a career-high tying four steals and three assists to the winning cause. Brantley stands at 1,496 career points and 784 career rebounds to date.
• Zep Jasper joined Brantley and Riller in double figures with his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season with 13 points at VCU.
• Senior guard Marquise Pointer played in his second game back from a preseason elbow injury and added seven points off the bench in 24 minutes of action at VCU.
• Junior forward Sam Miller made his Cougar debut checking into the game in the first half at VCU. He transferred to CofC in January of 2018 from Dayton. Miller played five minutes and made one steal.
• The win was the first home loss for VCU this season at the Siegel Center and 21st loss in the program's 123-consecutive sold-out game streak at the venue.
• VCU, who came into the game ranked No. 20 in the nation in scoring defense (61.1 ppg), gave up the second-most points this season to an opponent (83) behind 87 points in a loss to St. John's on Nov. 20.
• The Cougars made a season-high 23 turnovers against VCU's full-court press.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"Our non-Division I game against Georgia College was his first game back. He hadn't played in three months, so we figured it would be some time for him to catch his timing. Going into the VCU game, we thought we would play him 8-to-12 minutes, but the game didn't go that way. We had to play him and go through a lot of things quicker than what I planned. He really came through in 24 minutes and made a big three and took a huge charge. He is just a winner." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on Marquise Pointer's contribution off the bench in key moments in the game at VCU

"It has become really challenging over the last five days when I look at the depth chart and figure out who I want to put in the game. When I see Marquise (Pointer) and Sam (Miller), I kind of feel like I have to play them with them just getting back. But the younger guys like Jaylen Richard and Isaih Moore have done a really good job of helping us up until this point. We have to continue to keep them going. The VCU game went that way where we didn't sub a lot of guys. We didn't go into the game with that plan." – Coach Grant on the team's depth and shortening the rotation

"They (Siena) have pretty much a whole new roster from last year, so they are a much different team. But, they still play the same as they did last year. They have good players and one of our main challenges will be defending the three-point line. We know they are a good three-point shooting team, but we can't give up easy dunks and layups. We've had more time to prepare for this game. We just have to stick to our game plan tomorrow night." – Junior Guard Grant Riller on playing Siena for the second year in a row

"It's been good. Being on the road this long with your brothers, helps us bond as a team and is big during this time of the year before we head into conference play. The vibe is always good after a big win (VCU), which also helps." – Riller on the team's five-day road trip with a chance to bond as a team