COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (14-6, 3-4 CAA) vs. ELON (6-14, 2-5 CAA)
Game #21
January 24, 2019 • 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 | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 19-7
Last Meeting: CofC def. Elon, 79-58, on Feb. 22, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
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
Fifth Year at CofC: 91-62
Fifth Year Overall: 91-62
Elon: Matt Matheny
10th Year at Elon: 146-161
10th Year Overall: 146-161
 
TELEVISION (None)
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
After playing five of its first seven conference games on the road, the College of Charleston men's basketball team (14-6, 3-4 CAA) begins its longest homestand of the season beginning with former Southern Conference rival Elon (6-14, 2-5 CAA) on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The Cougars' four-game home stretch also includes dates with William & Mary on Jan. 26, James Madison on Jan. 31 and Towson on Feb. 2. CofC is 7-1 at home this season and looks to rebound from two tough road losses last week at preseason favorite Northeastern (60-69) and unbeaten Hofstra (72-86). Offensively, CofC has shot better than 51.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent beyond the three-point arc in three of its last four contests. Junior guard Grant Riller leads the way for the Cougars and ranks No. 18 nationally in scoring averaging 21.8 points per game. He is coming off a 24-point performance at Hofstra, while senior forward Jarrell Brantley has turned in double-doubles in two of the team's last three games including 19 points and game-high 12 rebounds versus the Pride.  Charleston is currently in a three-way tie for fifth in the latest CAA standings with W&M and UNCW.
 
SCOUTING ELON
Behind a game-ending 9-0 run, Elon ended a four-game losing skid in conference play with a 76-71 road win at William & Mary on Jan. 19. With multiple sharpshooters, the Phoenix rank first in the CAA in 3-pointers made this season averaging 10.0 per contest. Next to CofC, Elon is the only other team to boast two of the league's Top 10 scorers in senior forward Tyler Seibring (16.8 ppg) and senior guard Steven Santa Ana (16.2 ppg).
 
GAME PROMOTIONS
Fans will receive free stadium cups provided by David Aylor Law Offices. College of Charleston student-athletes with a 3.0 grade-point average or above will be recognized for their academic accomplishments throughout the game. Tickets are still available for purchase by calling (843) 953-COFC or online at: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
 
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 TD Arena along with color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#21 Marquise Pointer, G, 6-0, 210, Sr. (4.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 21.1 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 35.9 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 26.5 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 33.7 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 20.3 min)
 
PROJECTED ELON STARTERS
#12 Nathan Priddy, G, 6-2, 185, So. (7.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 26.8 min)
#22 Steven Santa Ana, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 32.1 min)
#0 Kris Wooten, G, 6-3, 190, Fr. (4.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 16.4 min)
#1 Chuck Hannah, F, 6-6, 230, Fr. (5.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 20.2 min)
#41 Tyler Seibring, F, 6-9, 225, Sr. (16.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.5 apg, 31.2 min)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston leads 19-7 in the all-time series with Elon. Last year, both schools split the regular-season series protecting each of their home courts. The Cougars have won 11 of the last 14 meetings in the series extending back to the Southern Conference rivalry years with the Phoenix. Charleston joined the CAA in July of 2013 and Elon in July of 2014.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 79-58 at Charleston, S.C. on 2/22/18 (+21)
L, 58-63 at Elon, N.C. on 1/13/18 (-5)
W, 71-58 at Charleston, S.C. on 2/4/17 (+13)
W, 66-54 at Elon, N.C. on 12/31/16 (+12)
W, 66-62 at Elon, N.C. on 2/13/16 (+4)
L, 64-65 at Charleston, S.C. on 1/16/16 (-1)
W, 77-63 at Charleston, S.C. on 2/18/15 (+14)
W, 66-50 at Elon, N.C. on 1/14/15 (+16)
W, 68-60 at Asheville, N.C.^ on 3/11/13 (+8)
W, 56-54 at Elon, N.C. on 12/1/12 (+2)
 
HOFSTRA RECAP
Hofstra 86, College of Charleston 72
• For the seventh-straight conference game, College of Charleston started Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (3-4).
• Hofstra snapped a four-game losing skid to College of Charleston in the all-time series. It was the first game in the last six meetings between the two schools to be decided in double digits (-14).
• Grant Riller recorded his 13th game this season with 20-or-more points with a team-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field at Hofstra. He surpassed former CofC greats Tony White, Jr. (2007-10) and Marion Busby (1992-95) for 10th all-time on the school's all-time career scoring list. Riller has now tabulated 1,508 career points to date and extended his double-digit scoring streak to 15-straight games.
• Jarrell Brantley turned in his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and game-high 12 rebounds at Hofstra. He also dished out five assists and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Brantley still ranks sixth all-time in career scoring with 1,653 points.
• Brantley and Riller became only the second teammates in program history to be ranked in the Top 10 all-time in career scoring during the same season next to former CofC greats Ken Gustafson and Sam Meade back in the 70s.
• Brevin Galloway registered his ninth double-figure scoring game with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc at Hofstra.
• The Cougars shot 51.9 percent from the floor against the Pride – their third game in the last four league contests to shoot better than 50 percent.
• The CofC defense gave up an opponent season-high 86 points to the league's top scoring offense in Hofstra.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"One of the things that's exciting is that this team has a lot inside of them. We won a lot of games and recently we faced a little bit of adversity. It's probably the hardest thing this group ever faced, because we won so much. The biggest thing is just practicing, trying to iron out the rotations and making sure we have good chemistry. It has been different with the rotations – the way that we are playing and the additions that we added to the team. I do think when it's all said and done, those same additions will be part of the reason why we have some success when we need to have some success. Hopefully, with four games at home and practices with the good spirit we've had the last two days, we can continue to get back on track and win some games." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on righting the ship
 
"For us, certainly we haven't played as well as we played early on in the season. We are trying to figure out exactly what the reason is. There is a lot of change that has happened to our team over the last three weeks. We are trying to work through some of that. We have to continue to work hard. But, it is an 18-game race. I'm excited that we have four games coming up here at TD Arena." – Coach Grant on rebounding from back-to-back losses at Northeastern and Hofstra
 
"Elon is certainly a really good team coming in here on Thursday. They won their last game against William & Mary. They have a veteran team, a good coach and good shooters. It's always a battle when we play Elon. Again, the most important thing is for us to focus on the preparation today. Hopefully, that preparation and our game plan, will be enough for us to be successful." – Coach Grant on Elon
 
"We have to get back to the drawing board and back to work. We have to get back to playing hard on every possession. Nobody likes to lose, but all great teams go through adversity. We either fall down or we get back up, so that's the mindset we've been having. We've been trying to get after it in practice and look at the now and let the future take care of itself. This (Elon) game is important, but so is every game that we play in the conference. There is no off night in this league. We need to get back to our defensive principles and let everyone see Charleston Basketball like it's supposed to be." – Senior Point Guard Marquise Pointer on getting back on track
 
"It's always good to be back home and we've got one of the best crowds in our conference for sure, because of what we have done in the past. Elon's a good team and they are capable of winning. Hopefully, we can get it done and get back on the right track." – Senior Forward Jarrell Brantley on being home for the next four games and prepping for Elon