Cougars Close Out Homestand With Towson On Saturday

Saturday, February 2

TD Arena

4:00 PM

College of Charleston

Towson

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Cougars Close Out Homestand With Towson On Saturday

2/1/2019 6:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Towson Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (17-6, 6-4 CAA) vs. TOWSON (8-15, 4-6 CAA)
Game #24
February 2, 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: CofC Leads 8-7
Last Meeting: CofC def. Towson, 67-55, on Jan. 3, 2019 at Towson, Md.
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: 94-62
Fifth Year Overall: 94-62
Towson: Pat Skerry
Eighth Year at Towson: 122-130
Eighth Year Overall: 122-130

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
Riding a three-game win streak in conference play, the College of Charleston men's basketball team (17-6, 6-4 CAA) plays host to Towson (8-15, 4-6 CAA) in the final game of a four-game homestand set for Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The Cougars are coming off a 70-53 win over James Madison, while the Tigers pulled off a one-point victory (77-76) on the road at UNCW on Jan. 31. A new month brings new opportunities as Charleston continues to climb the latest Colonial Athletic Association standings having won four of its last six contests. CofC is currently tied for third with Delaware, behind first-place and unbeaten Hofstra and second-place Northeastern. The dynamic duo of junior guard Grant Riller (21.8 ppg) and senior forward Jarrell Brantley (19.1 ppg) lead the way for the Cougars, who have scored 70+ points in four-straight games and defensively held their last three opponents in the 50s. Against JMU, CofC turned in its fourth-straight 10-win season at home under head coach Earl Grant, continuing the venue's tradition of being one of the toughest home courts in the country.

SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers are coming off a 1-1 week in conference play as they knocked off preseason CAA favorite Northeastern, 75-72, at home on Jan. 24. One of the top rebounding teams in the league, Towson leads the way in the offensive rebounds and rebounding margin (+5.9) categories. Junior forward Brian Fobbs, a JUCO All-American transfer, is currently the team's leading scorer averaging 16.6 points per game and has the third-longest double-figure scoring streak (19 games) in the CAA behind Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman (75 games) and CofC's Jarrell Brantley (28 games).

GAME PROMOTIONS
Join us for our Retro Game as we honor Legendary Head Coach John Kresse for his recent induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The first 500 ticketed fans and first 500 CofC students will receive a Coach Kresse bobblehead. The team also welcomes back 40+ former players for CofC Basketball Alumni Weekend. The Cougars will wear shooting shirts featuring the school's retro logo from the 1990s, which will be available for purchase in the Cougar Spirit Shop. 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. (4.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 22.5 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 35.6 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.3 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 33.7 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 19.7 min)

PROJECTED TOWSON STARTERS
#5 Jakigh Dottin, G, 6-2, 211, Fr. (4.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 17.0 min)
#23 Brian Fobbs, G, 6-5, 215, Jr. (16.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 31.3 min)
#2 Jordan McNeil, G, 6-4, 200, Sr. (7.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 25.4 min)
#20 Nakye Sanders, F, 6-7, 240, Jr. (7.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 21.1 min)
#11 Dennis Tunstall, F, 6-9, 225, Jr. (5.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 25.9 min)

INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston owns a one-game advantage in the all-time series with Towson, 8-7. The Cougars have won six of the last eight meetings between the two schools including a 67-55 victory on Jan. 3 at SECU Arena – only the program's second-ever road win in the series versus the Tigers.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 67-55 (+12) on Jan. 3, 2019 at Towson, Md.
L, 62-73 (-11) on Jan. 7, 2018 at Towson, Md.
W, 73-62 (+11) on Dec. 30, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 67-59 (+8) on March 5, 2017 at North Charleston, S.C.^
L, 77-83 (OT) (-6) on Jan. 26, 2017 at Towson, Md.
W, 62-57 (+5) on Jan. 5, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-47 (+18) on Feb. 4, 2016 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 40-37 (+3) on Jan. 21, 2016 at Towson, Md.
L, 50-53 (-3) on Feb. 15, 2015 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 70-74 (-4) on Jan. 29, 2015 at Towson, Md.
^ CAA Tournament

JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 70, James Madison 53
• For the 10th-straight CAA game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (6-4).
• With the win, College of Charleston improved to 9-5 in the all-time series with James Madison. The Cougars split the regular-season series with the Dukes and have now won six of the last seven meetings between the two schools.
• The dynamic duo of Grant Riller and Jarrell Brantley combined for 46 of the team's 70 points versus James Madison. It marked the 13th game this season that both combined for 40+ in a single game.
• Riller scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field against JMU. It marked his 15th game this season with 20-or-more points. He surpassed former CofC great Thaddeous Delaney (1994-97) for seventh on the school's all-time career scoring list with 1,573 points to date.
• Brantley recorded his ninth 20-point game of the season with 22 points against James Madison. He also made five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Brantley has now tabulated 1,714 career points and 880 career rebounds to date which both rank sixth all-time in program history.
• CofC forced James Madison to commit 15 turnovers to which it converted into 21 of its own points. The Cougars also held the Dukes to just 53 points – the third-consecutive CAA opponent to be held to under 60 points.
• Jaylen McManus made a team-high seven rebounds including five on the defensive end against JMU. It marked the fifth time in his career to lead the team in rebounding in a single game.
• Jaylen Richard turned in a perfect shooting night from the field (2-for-2), long range (2-for-2) and free throw line (2-for-2) for a total of eight points versus James Madison.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"Enthusiasm is a big part of our program. I want to see that competitive spirit. I want to see that fire and life. I think we showed it today and showed it the last seven to 10 days. It's a move in the right direction. We still have a lot of work to do. I'm really happy to see our guys show up and have five people connected at one time working for the same goal. Try to get a stop, try to get a good shot, execute and take care of the ball." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's passion and enthusiasm the last three games in conference play

"For the last four years, we have been Top 50 in America in ball care. We had a week where we were uncharacteristic. Some of that was on the players and some of that was on the staff. Also, our preparation and the way people guard is. We have become more simplistic since which has helped us. Simplicity, coming back into character and being a little bit more focused on taking care of the ball. We have always had good ball handlers and good guards. We look more like we try to be everyday." – Coach Grant on his team getting back to playing Charleston Basketball

"Like I said last week, our team has been under renovation the last three weeks – with the new personnel and figuring out our rotation. Now, our bench is really starting to help us. We are starting to figure out our rotation and who can help us. We have a lot of season left. We need to try to continue to get better everyday." – Coach Grant on the difference between his team three weeks ago to now

"Jaylen McManus has always been a good spark plug off the bench for us. Tonight (against JMU), he did it in a different way. Usually it is deflections, steals and dunks. Do something to wow the crowd and get the bench fired up. He knocked down some big threes and got to the free throw line. He did a good job defensively and played like a big guy. We went small and it didn't feel like we went small, because he was rebounding at a high level and was tough around the basket." – Coach Grant on the play off the bench by Jaylen McManus versus JMU

"Coach (Grant) preaches that. That's one of the best things we've done for our team (during this stretch). We have to continue to take care of the ball and share the rock. Continue to get our assist-to-turnover ratio up, too." – Senior Forward Jarrell Brantley on the team's five turnovers against James Madison