COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (15-6, 4-4 CAA) vs. WILLIAM & MARY (7-13, 3-5 CAA)
Game #22
January 26, 2019 • 4:00 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: William & Mary Leads 7-5
Last Meeting: CofC def. William & Mary, 83-73, in CAA Semifinals on March 5, 2018 at North 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: 92-62
Fifth Year Overall: 92-62
William & Mary: Tony Shaver
16th Year at W&M: 219-264
33rd Year Overall: 577-385
 
TELEVISION (None)
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
With one game down in its current four-game Colonial Athletic Association home stretch, the College of Charleston men's basketball team (15-6, 4-4 CAA) prepares for its first meeting this season with William & Mary (7-13, 3-5 CAA) on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. Last year, the Cougars and Tribe met three times during the season including the semifinals of the CAA Tournament at North Charleston Coliseum. CofC got back on track with a 19-point victory over Elon on Jan. 24, while W&M is looking to snap a four-game losing skid in conference play after a 93-88 setback at UNCW. At the halfway point of the CAA race, the Cougars are currently in a four-way tie for fourth with Drexel and UNCW in the latest league standings. They were led by a 21-point and 14-rebound double-double effort from senior forward Jarrell Brantley against the Phoenix. Since the end of last season, Brantley has scored in double figures in 26-consecutive games and is among the CAA's Top 5 in scoring (19.0 ppg), rebounding (8.3 ppg) and field-goal percentage (53.1%). In its last outing, 25 of CofC's 72 points versus Elon came from its bench players including the combination of the two Jaylens – McManus (12 points) and Richard (7 points). Known for their defense, the Cougars also held the Phoenix to 39.6 percent shooting from the field and caused them to turnover the ball 17 times in the ballgame.
 
A LOOK AT WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe are led by preseason All-CAA Second Team selection Nathan Knight, a junior forward who ranks third in scoring in the conference behind Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman and Grant Riller. He has turned in 11 20-point games this year including a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds at UNCW on Jan. 24. Knight is also among the CAA's Top 10 in rebounding, field-goal percentage, assists and blocks. William & Mary likes to share the ball and is currently No. 1 in the league in assists (17.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) having made 20+ assists in seven games this season.
 
GAME PROMOTIONS
2019 College of Charleston Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Tiffany Blum-Knezevic (volleyball), Steffi Kirchmayr (women's golf) and Bruce McDonald (men's golf) will be recognized during the game. Don't miss the Second Annual Baby Race at halftime. 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. (4.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 21.5 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, 35.8 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 26.0 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 33.6 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.2 apg, 19.9 min)
 
PROJECTED WILLIAM & MARY STARTERS
#15 Chase Audige, G, 6-4, 193, Fr. (10.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 28.8 min)
#2 Matt Milon, G, 6-5, 209, RS-Jr. (13.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 28.6 min)
#12 Luke Loewe, G, 6-4, 190, So. (3.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 21.8 min)
#23 Justin Pierce, G/F, 6-7, 202, Jr. (14.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 33.3 min)
#13 Nathan Knight, F/C, 6-10, 245, Jr. (19.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.5 apg, 29.7 min)
 
SERIES HISTORY
William & Mary leads 7-5 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. Over the last three seasons, the Tribe and Cougars have split the regular-season series protecting each of their respective home courts. Expect another close game between the two schools as the last eight-straight contests in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN SERIES
W, 83-73 (+10) on March 5, 2018 in North Charleston, S.C.^
L, 104-114 OT (-10) on Feb. 24, 2018 in Williamsburg, Va.
W, 82-77 (+5) on Feb. 8, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
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.^
^ CAA Tournament
 
GOING FOR 600
College of Charleston is one game away from recording its 600th win since becoming a Division I program (599-264 overall record) in 1991-92. The Cougars claimed their first Division I win with a road upset of then-Metro Conference member Charlotte (68-54) under legendary head coach John Kresse in the team's season opener on Nov. 23, 1991 in Charlotte, N.C. The 49ers would go on to earn a Top 25 national ranking and NCAA Tournament bid during CofC's inaugural season as an NCAA member. Win No. 100 was clinched at Campbell under Kresse during the 1995-96 NIT campaign, Win No. 200 versus intercity rival Charleston Southern under Kresse in 1999-2000, Win No. 300 against Appalachian State in the regular season under former head coach Tom Herrion in 2003-04 and Win No. 400 versus UNCG in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament, where the Cougars played four games in a row en route to the title game, under former head coach Bobby Cremins in 2008-09. CofC claimed Win No. 500 at crosstown rival The Citadel (72-48) during the 2013-14 season.
 
COFC MILESTONE NCAA DIVISION I VICTORIES
No. 1 – CofC at Charlotte (68-54) on Nov. 23, 1991 in Charlotte, N.C.
No. 100 – CofC at Campbell (76-74) on Jan. 28, 1996 in Buies Creek, N.C.
No. 200 – CofC vs. Charleston Southern (68-49) on Jan. 5, 2000 in North Charleston, S.C.
No. 300 – CofC vs. Appalachian State (65-63) on Feb. 9, 2004 in Charleston, S.C.
No. 400 – CofC vs. UNCG (69-56) at SoCon Tournament on March 6, 2009 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
No. 500 – CofC at The Citadel (72-48) on Dec. 29, 2013 in Charleston, S.C.
No. 600 – ???
 
ELON RECAP
College of Charleston 72, Elon 53
• For the eighth-straight CAA game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (4-4).
• With the win, College of Charleston extends its lead to 20-7 in the all-time series with Elon. The Cougars have won five out of the last six meetings between the two former Southern Conference rivals.
• Jarrell Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to 21-consecutive games this season with his seventh double-double of the year with a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds versus Elon. It marked the 30th double-double and 25th 20-point game of his career. He has now tabulated 1,674 career points and 864 career rebounds to date.
• Grant Riller has now scored in double figures in a career-best 16-game stretch turning in 17 points and a career-high seven rebounds against Elon. He still ranks 10th all-time in career scoring with 1,525 points to date.
• Jaylen McManus came off the bench and recorded a season-high 12 points on a career-best shooting performance from 3-point range (4-for-4) versus the Phoenix.  He also brought down three rebounds and made a block and steal in 21 minutes of action.
• The CofC defense held Elon to the second-lowest scoring output by an opponent this season with 53 points. The Cougars previously held UAB to 51 points on Nov. 23, 2018 at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando. It was also Elon's lowest-scoring output of the season and the second most turnovers (17) by an opponent this year.
• The Cougars beat the Phoenix by a 19-point margin of victory – the third most this season behind a 25-point win at Siena on Dec. 18 and 23-point victory over UAB on Nov. 23.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We are a defensive team and defensive program. We hadn't defended to our ability in the last 10 days or two weeks. But, sometimes when you deal with some tough situations, you try to come back to your identity. I thought our guys were very energetic and they bought into making things hard for the opponent. Taking care of the ball is something we have done well as a program. Some of the turnovers we had in the previous games, I thought that was on me and the staff, because we didn't help our guys figure out how to deal with the post-trap. We have guys who value the ball and they did a great job of taking care of the ball (against Elon)." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the Cougars getting back to playing "Charleston Basketball"
 
"The biggest thing for us is to just trying to win the possession. The last thing you want to do in these late games – you're up 15 points, a team starts pressing you, you throw the ball away and they cut it to eight. You are losing possessions. Usually you get 50-60 possessions in a game. You try to win as many as you can and try to be disciplined. You are playing against yourself to be the best you can be. I thought today we showed some good signs." – Coach Grant on closing out the game against Elon
 
"Those two were the Players of the Game. Jaylen McManus, he puts up a ton of shots everyday and works on his craft. We knew it was in him. As long as he has confidence, he will continue to shoot it like that. With Jaylen Richard, what you saw tonight is what you will see in the future. He is a great defender, can get his own shot and is very athletic. Both of those guys played a huge part in the W." – Junior Guard Grant Riller on the play of the two Jaylens in the win over Elon
 
"This is what we dealt with earlier in the year. You just don't know which guy will step-up for us, because we have so many guys. It was good to see Jaylen Richard do what he did defensively. He brought energy and had an electrifying dunk. Jaylen McManus didn't miss from three. He didn't miss at all. It's good having those guys step-up." – Senior Forward Jarrell Brantley on the play from the bench against Elon
 
"You always have to protect home. You can't really say what's going to happen on away games. Hopefully, you can go steal one. But, for the most part, you have to protect home. That's what we have been preaching to the young guys and ourselves. The coaches are putting us in a position to be successful and we have to protect home." – Brantley on the Cougars getting back into a groove and being home for the next three games