Cougars Ring In New Year With Two-Game CAA Road Swing

Thursday, January 3

Towson, Md.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Towson

Cougars Ring In New Year With Two-Game CAA Road Swing

1/2/2019 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Towson Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (12-2, 1-0 CAA) vs. TOWSON (5-9, 1-1 CAA)
Game #15
January 3, 2019 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
SECU Arena (5,200)
at Towson, Md.

Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: Series Tied 7-7
Last Meeting: Towson def. CofC, 73-62, on Jan. 7, 2018 at Towson, Md.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.TowsonStats.com
Live Video: Live Video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/towson/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fifth Year at CofC: 89-58
Fifth Year Overall: 89-58
Towson: Pat Skerry
Eighth Year at Towson: 119-124
Ninth Year Overall: 143-150

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (12-2, 1-0 CAA) will ring in the New Year with a two-game conference road swing beginning with Towson (5-9, 1-1 CAA) on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Towson, Md. The Cougars have won nine in a row and went an undefeated 6-0 in the month of December capped off by a 73-66 road victory at UNCW in their CAA opener on Dec. 29. They are the only conference team to start off the year away from home for the first three. As CofC looks to defend its conference title, the road to that goal will be a tough one. Towson was one of the program's four losses last season next to road setbacks at Drexel, Elon and William & Mary. This will only be the fourth home game this season for the Tigers and first since a 70-64 loss to Vermont at SECU Arena on Nov. 30. A year ago, both teams played the home-and-home series within the first four games of conference play. For the second-straight week, the Cougars are ranked No. 7 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and No. 63 in the latest NCAA NET rankings. Junior guard Grant Riller is currently on a season-best nine-game double-digit scoring streak including a game-high 31 outburst versus the Seahawks.

THE BOOK ON TOWSON
Towson has won three of its last five contests splitting its conference-opening weekend with a road win at Elon (77-60) and loss at William & Mary (61-71). The Tigers currently rank No. 22 in the nation and tops in the league in rebound margin (+7.6). They also lead the CAA in rebounds per game (37.9) grabbing an average of 12.5 on the offensive glass. For the second-straight game, the Cougars will go up against one of the top rebounders in the Colonial in junior forward Dennis Tunstall, who is averaging a team-best 8.5 boards per contest and 3.7 of those on the offensive end.

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 SECU Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, RS-Fr. (7.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 28.2 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (22.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 36.0 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (9.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.9 apg, 27.3 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (20.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.9 apg, 33.4 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (2.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 20.7 min)

PROJECTED TOWSON STARTERS
#0 Tobias Howard, G, 6-2, 195, Jr. (9.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 26.1 min)
#23 Brian Fobbs, G, 6-5, 215, Jr. (16.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 29.6 min)
#2 Jordan McNeil, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (6.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 23.8 min)
#20 Nakye Sanders, F, 6-7, 240, Jr. (8.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, 21.3 min)
#11 Dennis Tunstall, F, 6-9, 225, Jr. (5.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 0.8 apg, 26.6 min)

SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston's all-time series with Towson is tied at 7-7. Last year, the Cougars and Tigers split the regular-season series protecting each of their respective home courts. However, CofC has won five of the last seven meetings between the two schools including its lone road win at Towson (W, 40-37) in 2016.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 62-73 (-11) on Jan. 7, 2018 at Towson, Md.
W, 73-62 (+11) on Dec. 30, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 67-59 (+8) on March 5, 2017 in North Charleston, S.C.^
L, 77-83 (OT) (-6) on Jan. 26, 2017 in Towson, Md.
W, 62-57 (+5) on Jan. 5, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-47 (+18) on Feb. 4, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 40-37 (+3) on Jan. 21, 2016 in Towson, Md.
L, 50-53 (-3) on Feb. 15, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 70-74 (-4) on Jan. 29, 2015 in Towson, Md.
L, 61-68 (OT) (-7) on Feb. 8, 2014 in Towson, Md.
^ CAA Tournament

UPWARD PROGRESSION
In the Earl Grant Era, the Cougars have been steady year-in and year-out as one of the top defensive ballclubs in the nation and CAA. They have also increased their offensive production year-by-year from 58.6 points per game during the 2014-15 season to currently 74.8 points per game. In its current nine-game winning stretch, CofC has scored 72-or-more points with four 80-point games.

Season                 Scoring Offense                       Scoring Defense
2018-19                 74.8                                            67.3
2017-18                 74.6                                            68.6
2016-17                 69.0                                            64.6
2015-16                 65.4                                            62.0 (No. 8 in nation)
2014-15                 58.6                                            64.6

COUGARS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The College of Charleston continued its winning ways with a conference-opening victory on the road at UNCW to extend its current win streak to nine-straight games. The Cougars are currently tied with the sixth-longest current win streak in NCAA Division I with Mississippi State and CAA rival Hofstra. Houston, second-ranked Michigan, and Nevada boast the longest streak having won 13 straight, Virginia fourth (12) and Toledo fifth (10). Last year, CofC won 11-consecutive games during conference play under head coach Earl Grant.

CURRENT NCAA DIVISION I LONGEST WIN STREAK
1T. Houston - 13
1T. Michigan - 13
1T. Nevada - 13
4. Virginia - 12
5. Toledo - 10
6T. Mississippi State - 9
6T. College of Charleston - 9
6T. Hofstra - 9

UNCW RECAP
College of Charleston 73, UNCW 66
• College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (12-2).
• With the win, College of Charleston took a one-game lead in the all-time series with UNCW, 14-13. The Cougars have now won three-straight games in the series including last year's sweep of the Seahawks. It marked only the program's fifth-ever win on the road at Trask Coliseum. It was the seventh time in the last eight contests between the two schools that the game was decided in single digits (+7).
• Grant Riller recorded his fourth 30-point game this season and ninth of his career with a game-high 31 points at UNCW. He drained four three-pointers and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Riller moved into the Top 15 on the all-time career scorers list and has now tabulated 1,391 career points to date.
• Jarrell Brantley registered 14 points and eight rebounds at UNCW. He also led the team with three assists. Brantley has now tabulated 1,555 career points and 807 career rebounds to date. He became only the fifth player ever to record 1,500 points and 800 rebounds in a career in school history next to all-time greats Ken Gustafson, Thaddeous Delaney, Greg Mack and Sam Meade.
• Brevin Galloway turned in his seventh career double-figure scoring game with 14 points at UNCW. He also drained four three-pointers against the Seahawks.
• The Cougars shot 47.6 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-21) against the Seahawks which was their second-best three-point shooting percentage this season.
• CofC improves to 5-1 all-time in CAA openers since joining the league in July of 2013.
• Charleston extended its win streak to nine-straight games, which is currently tied as the sixth longest in the nation with Toledo.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"You have nine games you play on the road. Nine at home and nine away. I guess there's a positive to go ahead and get them started with road challenges. Obviously, It's harder to win on the road. You have to be sharp. You have to be really focused and mentally prepared. We got off to a good start with the first one (at UNCW). We have some challenges coming up and we have to prepare the best we can. Our guys did a good job, and now, we have another tough road challenge in Baltimore on Thursday." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's tough three-game road stretch to start conference play

"We are at about 90 percent of our capacity of what this team can be. There's another 10 percent out there that we have to find a way to get. Whether it is execution or staying mentally focused and locked in for closer to 40 minutes. Whether it is defensive rebounding and playing to our standards or strengthening the bench. I haven't played a lot of guys in these last few games. Some of those guys who I haven't played, helped us in the first 10 (games this season). When we added Marquise (Pointer) and Sam (Miller), it has changed some things in a positive way, because both of them are really valuable. I have to do a better job of working our bench and making sure we don't have guys playing 38-or-39 minutes. We need to get some of their minutes down to 31-to-32." – Coach Grant on the team knocking off the rust after the winter break

"I expected we would get teams' best shot. We've never been in this position before. We've never been a team who won a championship the year before. A lot of the stuff you just learn on the job. We have to go through the season and see – see what it's like being in this position. The most important thing is, we just have to focus on the preparation and take one game at a time." – Coach Grant on getting conference teams' best shot as the defending CAA champions

"I think we are getting teams' best shot. Every time somebody sees 'Charleston' across our chest, they are giving us their best shot. Wilmington was a great example for that. They (UNCW) came out hot and they were ready for us. I feel like that's going to be the whole case for the rest of conference play. That's why we have to be mentally tough. We have to be focused and locked in for the whole 40 minutes of the game." – Senior guard Marquise Pointer on getting teams' best shot each game