Riller's Three Leads Cougars To Overtime Road Victory at JMU

Thursday, February 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

21-6, 12-3CAA

James Madison

8-19, 4-10CAA

OT 1

Col. of Charleston

James Madison

Riller's Three Leads Cougars To Overtime Road Victory at JMU

2/15/2018 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score James Madison Box Score

Photo Courtesy: James Madison Athletics

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Grant Riller hit the game-winning three-pointer as College of Charleston pulled out an 81-78 victory in overtime at James Madison on Thursday night at the JMU Convocation Center.

The Cougars (21-6, 12-3 CAA) rolled to their ninth-straight win in Colonial Athletic Association play as Riller recorded a team-high 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 from long range versus the Dukes (8-19, 4-10 CAA).

CofC had a chance to win the ballgame in regulation as Joe Chealey attempted a three-point shot with one second left. Instead, the contest went into overtime tied at 69-69.

Jarrell Brantley turned in his second double-double performance of the season with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Cameron Johnson registered his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the winning cause.

JMU led by as many as 11 at the 10:11 minute mark of the second half. The Dukes were led in scoring with a game-high 33 points from Matt Lewis. They had won four-straight home games including a one-point win over defending CAA champion UNCW on Tuesday night in a rescheduled contest.

The Cougars continue their two-game CAA road swing at UNCW (9-18, 6-9 CAA) for a Saturday, Feb. 17 rematch at 7 p.m. (ET) in Wilmington, N.C.

POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 15th-consecutive game, the College of Charleston started Joe Chealey, Grant Riller, Cameron Johnson, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris.
• With the win, College of Charleston leads 8-4 in the all-time series with James Madison. The Cougars have now won five-straight in the series and claimed the regular-season series sweep of the Dukes for the second-straight year.
• Grant Riller scored a team-high 32 points at James Madison which marked his fourth career 30-point game. He also turned in season highs in steals (4) and blocked shots (2).
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his 19th career double-double and second of the season with 20 points and a season-and game-high 13 rebounds at James Madison.
• Cameron Johnson turned in his first career double-double with 10 points and career-high 10 rebounds at James Madison.
• The Cougars are now 2-1 in overtime games this season next to Siena (W, 68-60) on Nov. 10 and at Drexel (L, 82-87) on Jan. 5.
• Joe Chealey dished out a game-high seven of the team's 11 assists at James Madison.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"Obviously, I'm just proud of our players for showing perseverance and not giving in. We had some opportunities where we could have folded the tent. Give James Madison credit. They made a lot of big shots all throughout the game with timely threes, big shots and big offensive rebounds. I'm just happy we were able to find a way to win it."

On the final play in overtime …
"It was just trust. We've been together and been through some battles the last few years – some good times and bad times. James Madison had changed defenses so much that I figured we got the ball in Grant Riller's hands. There's no need to call a timeout. 'What would we draw up?' He just came through and made a big shot. He's a really good player and wanted the ball. He made a huge shot to win it."