Cougars Host Dragons Thursday In CAA Home Opener at TD Arena

Thursday, January 10

TD Arena

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Drexel

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Cougars Host Dragons Thursday In CAA Home Opener at TD Arena

1/9/2019 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Drexel Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (13-3, 2-1 CAA) vs. DREXEL (7-10, 1-3 CAA)
Game #17
January 10, 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 9-5
Last Meeting: CofC def. Drexel, 66-59, on March 4, 2018 in CAA Quarterfinals 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: 90-59
Fifth Year Overall: 90-59
Drexel: Zach Spiker
Third Year at Drexel: 29-53
Tenth Year Overall: 131-165

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
After being battled-tested early playing its first three conference games on the road, the defending champion College of Charleston men's basketball team (13-3, 2-1 CAA) will host Drexel (7-10, 1-3 CAA) in its Colonial Athletic Association home opener on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The Cougars are currently an undefeated 6-0 at home this season and boast the nation's second-longest home-court winning streak at 22-consecutive games. The first time home in a little over 20 days, they are looking to bounce back from a 69-58 setback at James Madison on Jan. 5, which halted a 10-game win stretch that included non-conference victories over Memphis and VCU. Still, at this point of the season, Charleston is one of only 54 schools in the country to have three-or-fewer losses on the year. Head Coach Earl Grant's defensive-minded Cougars are holding opponents to a conference-best 66.6 points per game through all games and 63.3 ppg in league play. They will look to defend a high-scoring Drexel squad averaging 78.6 points per game, which is second-most in the CAA behind Hofstra. Senior forward Jarrell Brantley and freshman guard Jaylen Richard led CofC in scoring at JMU with 15 points each – a career best and breakout performance for the rookie. Last year, the Cougars beat Towson in their conference home opener (W, 73-62) on Dec. 30, 2017 at TD Arena.

A LOOK AT THE DRAGONS
The Dragons will have played all four teams picked to finish in the top half of the CAA in their first five games of league play in preseason favorite Northeastern (L, 83-93), Hofstra (L, 75-89), William & Mary (L, 66-84) and CofC. They have four players currently averaging double figures including top player Troy Harper (16.2 ppg), a senior transfer from Campbell. He one of five players on the team who are NCAA Division I or JUCO transfers. Drexel is 1-6 on the road this season – its lone road win at La Salle in non-conference play. Last season, CofC and Drexel split the regular-season series each protecting its respective home court.

GAME PROMOTIONS
Free COUGARS hand banners courtesy of the College of Charleston Alumni Association will be given out to fans at the Drexel 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. (2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 17.6 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (22.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.4 apg, 35.9 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 26.8 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 33.8 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (2.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 20.2 min)

PROJECTED DREXEL STARTERS
#3 Troy Harper, G, 6-1, 175, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 28.6 min)
#11 Camren Wynter, G, 6-2, 175, Fr. (10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 5.0 apg, 32.6 min)
#23 Trevor John, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (12.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 31.8 min)
#30 Alihan Demir, F, 6-9, 232, Jr. (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 30.3 min)
#51 James Butler, F, 6-8, 242, So. (9.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 25.1 min)

SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston leads 9-5 in the all-time series with Drexel. The Cougars have met the Dragons twice in the last three years in CAA Tournament play including both teams' last meeting in the quarterfinals (W, 66-59) on March 4, 2018 at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston. CofC has won five of the last six contests in the series including the last three at home in Charleston.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 66-59 (+7) on March 4, 2018 in North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 89-67 (+22) on Feb. 10, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 82-87 OT (-5) on Jan. 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 80-67 (+13) on Feb. 25, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 90-76 (+14) on Jan. 28, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 60-38 (+22) on Feb. 6, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 54-61 (-7) on Jan. 9, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 56-48 (+8) on March 6, 2015 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 45-59 (-14) on Feb. 7, 2015 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 51-53 (-2) on Jan. 24, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pa.
^ CAA Tournament

COUGARS AMONG NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS
The Cougars currently rank in the Top 20 among NCAA Division I statistical leaders in three different categories: No. 7 in personal fouls per game (14.4), No. 13 in turnovers per game (10.6) and No. 17 in free-throw percentage (76.5%). Individually, junior guard Grant Riller ranks No. 16 nationally in points per game (22.3), which is second-best in the CAA behind Justin Wright-Foreman of Hofstra (26.7 ppg). He and Wright-Foreman are one of only 19 players currently in Division I scoring more than 22.0 points per game this season.

HOME SWEET HOME
CofC currently boasts the second-longest active home winning streak (22 wins) in the country after going an undefeated 14-0 at TD Arena in 2017-18. Only Houston (28) has a longer home-court winning streak in NCAA Division I. Others included on that elite short list: Utah Valley (20), Nebraska (19), Buffalo (18), Murray State (18), Michigan (17), Tennessee (17) and UNCG (17).

JAMES MADISON RECAP
James Madison 69, College of Charleston 58
• For the second time this season, College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (1-1).
• James Madison snapped a five-game losing skid in the all-time series with College of Charleston. However, the Cougars still leads the Dukes 8-5 in the series.
• Jarrell Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to 16-straight games this season with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals at James Madison. He has now tabulated 1,593 career points to date.
• Grant Riller fouled out of the ballgame with 13 points and two assists at James Madison. He has scored in double figures in 11-consecutive games and now has 1,428 career points to date.
• Freshman guard Jaylen Richard came off the bench and contributed a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and career-best four steals in 15 minutes of play at James Madison.
• The Cougars made the second-most steals in a game this season with 10 at James Madison behind four from Richard, three from Brantley, two from Jasper and one from Galloway.
• JMU shot an opponent season-high 54.5 percent from the field (24-of-44), while CofC shot its second-lowest shooting percentage from the field this season at 38.8%.
• Defensively, the Cougars forced James Madison to commit 17 turnovers which was the second most by an opponent this season and in league play.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I don't feel like it's so-much of a rebound for us. We just need to focus on going back to the basics – some Day One defensive principle drills. We also talk about our standards all the time: sharing the ball, making good decisions and being good teammates. It's hard to win every game. We learned from that road challenge (at James Madison), where we came up short. It's really hard to win on the road in this league and hard to win at home. Really, we just need to get back to the basics." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on what the team has focused on this week to rebound from the road loss at JMU

"We started the first three conference games on the road, which again, is hard to do in this league. We have one more day to prepare and we have an amazing challenge ahead with a team (Drexel) that is very capable. They have a good coach and their team is improved from last year. They have a good scheme and they do a lot of good things offensively. They play fast and play with a lot of tempo. I expect them to play hard and put in one of their best efforts. Hopefully, the crowd will provide us with great energy and our players will feed off of it." – Coach Grant on returning home and what to expect from Drexel

"Really I was just going in there to try to do my part and help my EGB's (energy-giving behaviors). I was trying to bring some edge to the team (off the bench) and help my team win the game. But, it did not happen that way." – Freshman Guard Jaylen Richard on his breakout game at JMU

"We just need to come into the game with energy and play every game like it's another regular game. Not looking at the roster per say. Just looking at the game as the next game. We expect them (Drexel) to come in with a lot of energy. We get everyone's best every night (in our league)." – Richard on learning from the JMU loss to the next one against Drexel