COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (18-6, 9-3 CAA) vs. WILLIAM & MARY (15-8, 8-4 CAA)
Game #25
February 8, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
 
Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: William & Mary Leads 6-3
Last Meeting: William & Mary def. CofC, 89-79, on Feb. 11, 2017 in Williamsburg, Va.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/charleston/
Tickets: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fourth Year at CofC: 69-54
Fourth Year Overall: 69-54
William & Mary: Tony Shaver
15th Year at W&M: 208-247
32nd Year Overall: 566-368
 
TELEVISION (None)
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
With six games remaining in the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season race, the preseason favorite College of Charleston men's basketball team (18-6, 9-3 CAA) will face William & Mary (15-8, 8-4 CAA) for the first time this season in a pivotal league matchup on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The Cougars and Tribe will see each other again in the season finale, which could also decide first place and a regular-season title on Feb. 24 in Williamsburg, Va. For now, CofC sits atop of the standings with W&M and Northeastern one game back in second place and Hofstra in fourth. Charleston is coming off two big road wins at Northeastern (69-64) on Feb. 1 and Hofstra (86-85) on Feb. 3, which resulted in sole possession. Meanwhile, the Tribe lost at home to Drexel (91-79) – a dangerous team that has beaten CofC, Northeastern and W&M – in their last conference outing on Feb. 3. Preseason CAA Player of the Year and reigning CAA Co-Player of the Week Joe Chealey has led his team to six-straight wins, after starting the year 3-3 in league play. The Cougars are playing their best basketball of the season and look to stay in the driver's seat come March. They are currently rated No. 75 in the latest NCAA Men's Basketball RPI – the highest-rated school in the CAA.
 
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
William & Mary is the third-consecutive perimeter team the Cougars will go up against as the Tribe leads the conference in three-pointers made (11.3 avg.) ahead of Elon (11.0), Northeastern (8.9) and Hofstra (8.3). Five players on their roster are averaging double figures including sophomore Nathan Knight, who is averaging 18.2 points per game. W&M also ranks in the Top 10 nationally in scoring offense (10th, 85.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (8th, 50.8%), assists per game (10th, 17.9 apg), free throw percentage (3rd, 79.5%), three-point field goals made (7th) and three-point field-goal percentage (1st, 44.6%).
 
COACHES POWERING FORWARD
This year, coaches from around the country will be raising money for autism through Coaches Powering Forward for Autism benefiting Autism Speaks. College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant and his coaching staff will also be wearing the blue puzzle piece pin on their suit jackets during the games this weekend. This is part of college basketball's autism awareness weekend, an effort started by Towson head men's basketball coach Pat Skerry and USF assistant men's basketball coach Tom Herrion. Both previously coached at CofC. It has since gone national with support from the NABC and Autism Speaks. For more information, please visit: www.autismspeaks.org
 
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2017-18 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Everett German will call the action live from TD Arena alongside color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (18.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 35.3 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 195, So. (15.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 32.4 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 32.7 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, Jr. (16.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 30.6 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 260, Jr. (6.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 26.8 min)
 
PROJECTED WILLIAM & MARY STARTERS
#34 David Cohn, G, 6-2, 168, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 6.4 apg, 34.8 min)
#2 Matt Milon, G, 6-5, 195, RS-So. (13.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 30.3 min)
#10 Connor Burchfield, G, 6-4, 180, Sr. (12.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 29.3 min)
#23 Justin Pierce, G/F, 6-7, 215, So. (14.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 30.3 min)
#13 Nathan Knight, F, 6-10, 235, So. (18.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 28.5 min)
 
HOME SWEET HOME
College of Charleston is one of 27 remaining NCAA Division I schools that remains unbeaten at home this season. Of those 27, only 22 schools have won 10-or-more at home to date. The Cougars have defeated Siena (OT), Western Carolina, High Point, North Greenville, South Carolina State, Towson, Delaware, Northeastern, UNCW, Hofstra and JMU for a 11-0 mark in the friendly confines of TD Arena. Historically, CofC's home-court winning percentage is .837 and The College picked up its 100th all-time win at TD Arena (formerly known as Carolina First Arena which opened in 2008) in a 73-62 win over Towson in the CAA opener.
 
SERIES NOTES
William & Mary leads 6-3 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. The Tribe has won three of the last four meetings between the two schools. Both teams split the regular-season series a year ago with each claiming a 10-point victory on their respective home courts – CofC, 77-67, on Jan. 14, 2017 at TD Arena and W&M, 89-79, at Kaplan Arena on Feb. 11, 2017.
 
LAST EIGHT GAMES IN SERIES
L, 79-89 (-10) on Feb. 11, 2017 in Williamsburg, Va.
W, 77-67 (+10) on Jan. 14, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 61-63 (-2) on Jan. 14, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 70-78 (-8) on Jan. 2, 2016 in Williamsburg, Va.
W, 80-72 (+8) on Feb. 5, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 45-75 (-30) on Jan. 3, 2015 in Williamsburg, Va.
L, 59-70 (-11) on March 8, 2014 in Baltimore, Md.
W, 87-54 (+33) on Feb. 19, 2014 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 63-74 (-11) on Jan. 27, 2014 in Williamsburg, Va.
 
HOFSTRA RECAP
College of Charleston 86, Hofstra 85
• 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.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We have to play our defense. We have to try to challenge every shot, rebound the first miss and really get after it. If they (William & Mary) make a shot, they make a shot. But as long as we contest it, that will be good enough for us. They shoot a lot of threes, so it will be a lot of long rebounds. We have to make sure we have five guys rebounding. They will attempt 35 threes and we have to contest as many as we can." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on defending William & Mary's offensive attack particularly on the perimeter
 
"It's a 40-minute game. You have to make threes, twos and free throws. There's a lot of things that have to happen in a game (to be successful). At the end of the day, we want to play Charleston defense and let the chips fall as they may." – Coach Grant on what the Cougars can do offensively against a team like William & Mary
 
"It's like a first-place game. The two road wins last week were big for us. We are excited to get back here in front of our fans, which will help us. Obviously, William & Mary can score the ball at a high rate. They will make a lot of threes like Elon and Northeastern. We just have to stick to our game plan against them. We have to match the intensity the other teams are bringing for the rest of our games in conference play."- Sophomore Guard Grant Riller on facing William & Mary for the first time of the season on Thursday
 
"Offensively, they (William & Mary) can score with the best of them. We just have to stick to our standards of playing defense – staying in the gaps, being able to help others and defensive rebounding. Finishing possessions is going to big in this game. If we do those things, we will be successful." – Junior Forward Jarrell Brantley on defending William & Mary