Photo Credit: Wasim Ahmad
 
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) – Grant Riller scored 24 points, Jarrell Brantley poured in 23 more, including the winning layup, and College of Charleston edged Hofstra, 86-85, on Saturday night to take sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.
 
Trailing by a point after Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman sank a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left, Charleston (18-6, 9-3) took the ball down the right side of the court and got it inside to Brantley, who dribbled twice to his right before breaking left to drop in the winning bucket with three seconds remaining.
 
Joe Chealey added 19 points and Nick Harris had 10 for Charleston, which shot 57 percent and got 18 assists on its 30 baskets to pick up its sixth-straight win.
 
Wright-Foreman finished with 24 points to lead Hofstra (14-10, 7-5), Eli Pemberton added 20, Jalen Ray got 11 and Kenny Wormley 10.
 
The Cougars will next host William & Mary (15-8, 8-4 CAA) in both teams' first meeting of the season on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling (843) 953-COFC or by going online at: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the 12th-straight CAA game, the College of Charleston started Joe Chealey, Grant Riller, Cameron Johnson, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris.
• With the win, College of Charleston swept the regular-season series with Hofstra for the second-straight season and are now on a four-game win streak in the series. The Cougars now lead 6-4 in the all-time series.
• Grant Riller knocked down a game-high tying 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field at Hofstra. He has now scored in double figures in 19 games of the season and it marked his seventh game with 20-or-more points.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor at Hofstra. It marked his sixth 20-point outing of the season and 13th of his career. He has now tabulated 1,087 career points to date.
• Joe Chealey extended his double-digit scoring streak to a season-best 13-straight games with19 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc at Hofstra. He has now recorded 1,667 career points to date.
• Nick Harris registered his seventh game this season in double figures with 10 points at Hofstra. He also added two blocked shots in 29 minutes of action before fouling out of the ballgame.
• Cameron Johnson dished out a career-and team-high seven assists and also made three steals at Hofstra.
• CofC made a season-high 18 assists at Hofstra, which also tied 18 assists versus South Carolina State on Dec. 19 and North Greenville on Dec. 10.
• The Cougars shot 57.7 percent from the field against Hofstra which was their best shooting percentage in conference play since making 60 percent of their shots versus Northeastern on Jan. 11.
• CofC outrebounded the Pride, 30-25, behind a team-high seven rebounds from Jarrell Brantley and five rebounds each from Nick Harris and Joe Chealey.
• The Cougars scored 38 of their 86 points in the paint and turned in their third-most points in a single game this season behind 93 points versus Delaware on Jan. 2 and 92 points against North Greenville on Dec. 10.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"I didn't think we would have to score 86 to win. The last time we played at Hofstra, we won, but we won in the 70s. Certainly, we did a good job of sharing the ball and guys came up with big shots. I thought in the first half, we gave way too many points. They had 46 points and there were 15 of them where we had bad luck. The ball got knocked loose and they made a three every time. Give our players credit. It was a gutsy win – finding a way to win on the road in a tough atmosphere. I was really just proud of our guys."
 
On the experience of the team down the stretch …
"They showed a lot of poise. There was so much changing of defenses by Hofstra. They were going back from 2-3 zone to man-to-man to 1-3-1. There were some times that we had to call some things on the fly. I give the players credit for getting organized, executing and getting to their spots. It's refreshing when you have really good leadership and really good, experienced players. On top of that, they are talented and that helps, too."