Second Half Of CAA Play Starts For Cougars With James Madison Rematch

Thursday, January 31

TD Arena

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

James Madison

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Second Half Of CAA Play Starts For Cougars With James Madison Rematch

1/30/2019 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

James Madison Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (16-6, 5-4 CAA) vs. JAMES MADISON (9-13, 2-7 CAA)
Game #23
January 31, 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 8-5
Last Meeting: JMU def. CofC, 69-58, on Jan. 5, 2019 at Harrisonburg, 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
Fifth Year at CofC: 93-62
Fifth Year Overall: 93-62
James Madison: Louis Rowe
Third Year at JMU: 29-58
Third Year Overall: 29-58

TELEVISION (None)

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (16-6, 5-4 CAA) starts the second half of conference play with a rematch with James Madison (9-13, 2-7 CAA) scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The Cougars will look to avenge a 69-58 road loss to the Dukes in early January, which ended a 10-game win streak. Since both teams last met, Charleston has scored 71-or-more points in all but one league contest and got back to its defensive principles holding its last two opponents to scoring in the 50s. Last week, the Cougars went 2-0 with victories over Elon (72-53) on Jan. 24 and William & Mary (74-59) on Jan. 26. Senior forward Jarrell Brantley has posted double-double performances in four of the team's last five games, while junior guard Grant Riller has topped the 20-point mark in three of the team's last five. CofC is currently in fourth in the latest CAA standings behind unbeaten Hofstra, Delaware and Northeastern. The Cougars are 9-1 this year in the friendly confines of TD Arena and one win away from recording their fourth-straight 10-win season at home under head coach Earl Grant.

THE BOOK ON JAMES MADISON
Preseason All-CAA Second Team selection Stuckey Mosley leads the Dukes in the scoring column averaging 16.9 points per game which is seventh best in the league. He also ranks second in 3-pointers made (69) this season. While the Dukes come into the rematch with CofC with only two conference wins – five of their league losses have been decided by fewer than seven points – making them a dangerous team. They are looking to end a four-game skid in conference play after setbacks to Hofstra (L, 68-85) and Northeastern (L, 68-78) last week.

GAME PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to wear black for our Black Out Game presented by Homegrown Hospitality Group. The first 800 CofC students will receive a free black T-shirt and fans will receive a black rally towel (while supplies last). 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. (4.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 22.2 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, 35.7 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.9 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 33.5 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.2 apg, 19.9 min)

PROJECTED JAMES MADISON STARTERS
#1 Matt Lewis, G, 6-5, 180, So. (15.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 36.0 min)
#3 Stuckey Mosley, G, 6-3, 190, RS-Sr. (16.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 35.0 min)
#23 Deshon Parker, G, 6-3, 180, Fr. (5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 26.3 min)
#5 Darius Banks, G, 6-5, 225, So. (13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 32.5 min)
#24 Dwight Wilson, F, 6-7, 260, So. (8.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.5 apg, 23.0 min)

SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston leads 8-5 in the all-time series with James Madison. In both team's first meeting this season, the Dukes snapped the Cougars' five-game win streak in the series in Harrisonburg, Va. Always a dog fight between the two schools, seven of the last nine meetings have been decided in single digits and one in overtime. CofC has won the last two times when playing JMU at TD Arena.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 58-69 (-11) on Jan. 5, 2019 at Harrisonburg, Va.
W, 81-78 OT (+3) on Feb. 15, 2018 at Harrisonburg, Va.
W, 66-59 (+7) on Jan. 27, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 67-62 (+5) on March 4, 2017 at North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 73-60 (+13) on Jan. 21, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 53-51 (+2) on Jan. 12, 2017 at Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 52-56 (-4) on Feb. 11, 2016 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-62 (+3) on Dec. 31, 2015 at Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 61-68 (-7) on Feb. 22, 2015 at Harrisonburg, Va.
L, 50-61 (-11) on Jan. 5, 2015 at Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament

THE RESERVES
The future is bright for the Cougars as several of the team's newcomers have contributed big minutes and big plays in their last stretch of CAA games. Against Elon on Jan. 24, CofC's reserve players contributed a season-high 25 points off the bench behind the "Two Jaylens" – junior forward Jaylen McManus (12 points) and freshman guard Jaylen Richard (7 points). Junior transfer Sam Miller and Richard also aided in the Cougars' win over William & Mary on Jan. 26.

TOP BENCH PRODUCTION THIS SEASON
25 points vs. Elon on 1/24/19
24 points at James Madison on 1/5/19
24 points vs. South Carolina State on 11/28/18
19 points vs. UAB on 11/23/18
18 points vs. William & Mary on 1/26/19
17 points at Northeastern on 1/17/19

CHEALEY MAKES NBA DEBUT
Former College of Charleston point guard Joe Chealey (2013-18) made his official NBA debut with the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 30. A two-way player for the organization, he was called up from the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League earlier this week. The two-time All-CAA First Team selection saw eight minutes of action, scored two points and made one assist against the Boston Celtics. Chealey, who was undrafted and played in the NBA Summer League, still ranks fourth all-time in career scoring (1,827 points) and eighth all-time in career assists (397) at The College.

WILLIAM & MARY RECAP
College of Charleston 74, William & Mary 59
• For the ninth-straight CAA game, College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (5-4).
• With the win, College of Charleston picked up its sixth all-time win in the series with William & Mary. The Cougars have now won three of the last four meetings between the two schools. The Tribe, however, still hold a one-game advantage in the series.
• Grant Riller extended his career-best double-digit scoring streak to 17-consecutive games with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line against William & Mary. It marked his 14th game with 20-or-more points this season. He also led the team in assists with four. Riller surpassed former CofC greats Jeff Bolton (1999-02) and Dontaye Draper (2003-07) to move up to eighth all-time in career scoring with 1,549 points to date.
• Jarrell Brantley registered his eighth double-double of the season and fourth double-double in the last five games in conference play with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds versus the Tribe. He has now tabulated 1,692 career points to date which still ranks sixth-most in program history.
• For the second-straight game, the CofC defense held its opponent in the 50-point range as William & Mary scored only 59 points and made only 6-of-19 three-point attempts. It was the Tribe's fourth-lowest scoring output of the season.
• College of Charleston recorded the program's 600th win since becoming a NCAA Division I member. The Cougars are now 600-264 (.694) overall since 1991-92.
• The Cougars had a season-high crowd versus William & Mary with 4,569 fans in attendance at TD Arena.
• CofC's bench contributed 18 points to its final scoring output including seven points from Sam Miller, five points from Jaylen Richard and four points from Jaylen McManus.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"Obviously, three weeks ago we had a lot of transition with our roster. We were trying to do some different combinations. Going back and watching the (JMU) game, we didn't really sub at all for the first 10 minutes. We didn't play great and James Madison played really well. For me, we just have to build on what we did in our last game (against William & Mary). We want to be a little better with our transition defense and rebounding the ball. We want to make sure we take care of the ball, take the right shots on offense and try to execute." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the last time the Cougars played James Madison

"You always want to get off to a good start. You just want to win the possession – as many possessions as you can, try to get a good shot and make sure you are executing well. Defensively, we want to make the team earn their baskets. Sometimes you try to make a team earn their baskets and they make them anyway. As long as we are giving good effort that's going to be the most important thing." – Coach Grant on getting off to a better start than in the last game against JMU

"There's a change in a sense with our rotations. Like I said, three weeks ago it was early in conference play. It was our third conference game. We had a few guys returning to the roster and we were trying different lineups. Now, we've had multiple games since then, so we feel a little bit better about our rotation. I do think our guys are more conscious on defense by making sure we are more sound and sticking to the game plan." – Coach Grant on the difference he has seen in his team since the JMU road loss

"We went through a little tough stretch, but I don't think we were off track. We just had to try to find ourselves. We can't come out slow like we did last time. They (JMU) are a good team, so we have to come out and play 40 minutes strong. If we do that, the results will take care of themselves." – Senior Forward Nick Harris on what the team learned since they last played James Madison

"James Madison is a very good team. In the last game, we had some matchup problems with them, because they can matchup with us at the four and five (positions). They play just like us. Hopefully, we will come in and be well prepared for them. We need to have a good practice today and come in and be ready tomorrow." – Redshirt Freshman Guard Zep Jasper on the rematch with JMU