Valentine's Day Showdown To Showcase League's Best

Thursday, February 14

TD Arena

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Hofstra

Buy Tickets

2/13/2019 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Hofstra Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (20-6, 9-4 CAA) vs. HOFSTRA (21-4, 11-1 CAA)
Game #27
February 14, 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 6-5
Last Meeting: Hofstra def. CofC, 86-72, on Jan. 19, 2019 at Hempstead, N.Y.
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: 97-62
Fifth Year Overall: 97-62
Hofstra: Joe Mihalich
Sixth Year at Hofstra: 109-80
21st Year Overall: 374-283

TELEVISION (None)

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

GAME PREVIEW
A Valentine's Day showdown between the College of Charleston men's basketball team (20-6, 9-4 CAA) and Hofstra (21-4, 11-1) will showcase the Colonial Athletic Association's best on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. With five games remaining in the regular season, you couldn't ask for a better matchup or game at this point of a very close league race. There will be a lot of star power to go around as three of the league's top four scorers will be on hand in Grant Riller (21.2 ppg) and Jarrell Brantley (18.5 ppg) for CofC and reigning CAA Player of the Week Justin Wright-Foreman (26.0 ppg) for Hofstra. The Pride and the Cougars are currently one of only 26 teams nationally to have already eclipsed the 20-win mark this season. In addition, they are both ranked in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll coming in at No. 6 and No. 22 respectively. Charleston has rattled off six-straight victories since its mid-January 0-2 road trip to Northeastern and Hofstra. The Cougars are playing some of their best basketball of the season averaging 73.2 points per game and holding opponents to 62.8 points per game in their six-game stretch. They have also shot the ball at a 48.9 percent accuracy rate from the field and 38.3 percent accuracy from long range. CofC, which is currently in third place, closed the gap in the league standings after going 2-0 last week at Delaware (83-75) and Drexel (86-84). Meanwhile, the Pride hold a two-game lead over second-place Northeastern and CofC with an 11-1 mark.

EYEING THE PRIDE
Senior guard Justin Wright-Foreman is one of the Top 5 scorers in the country averaging 26.0 points per game which is third-most behind NCAA leader Chris Clemons of Campbell (29.1 ppg) and Antoine Davis of Detroit (26.7 ppg). He set a conference record for most points in a single game last week with 48 points in a 93-87 win over William & Mary on Feb. 9. Hofstra is having one of its best seasons in school history and currently No. 51 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings. The Pride, the best offensive team in the CAA averaging 82.9 points per game, will go up against the best defensive team in CofC (66.7 ppg) on Thursday.

GAME PROMOTIONS
Celebrate Valentine's Day with the Cougars at TD Arena! A special Valentine's Day ticket package is available for purchase for only $45 and includes two tickets to the game, T-Shirts, popcorn and beer/wine. The stakes are high as College of Charleston hosts first-place Hofstra and second-place and preseason CAA favorite Northeastern this week at TD Arena. Tickets are 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. (4.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 22.1 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 35.5 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.3 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (18.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 33.4 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 19.7 min)

PROJECTED HOFSTRA STARTERS
#4 Desure Buie, G, 6-0, 160, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 5.0 apg, 31.4 min)
#3 Justin Wright-Foreman, G, 6-2, 190, Sr. (26.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 36.8 min)
#5 Eli Pemberton, G, 6-5, 195, Jr. (15.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 34.8 min)
#0 Tareq Coburn, F, 6-5, 195, Jr. (8.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 23.0 min)
#23 Jacquil Taylor, C, 6-10, 235, Sr. (7.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 0.6 apg, 24.2 min)

SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston holds a one-game, 6-5 advantage in the all-time series with Hofstra. Five of the last six contests in the series have been decided in single digits. The Pride snapped a four-game losing streak in the series in both teams' last outing (86-72) on Jan. 19 in Hempstead, N.Y. However, CofC is 4-2 lifetime when playing at home in the series.

LAST EIGHT GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 72-86 (-14) on Jan. 19, 2019 at Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 86-85 (+1) on Feb. 3, 2018 in Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 76-70 (+6) on Jan. 20, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 76-72 (+4) on Feb. 16, 2017 in Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 77-71 (+6) on Jan. 7, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 63-72 (-9) on Feb. 27, 2016 in Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 72-61 (+11) on Jan. 7, 2016 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 40-73 (-33) on Feb. 25, 2015 in Hempstead, N.Y.

ABOVE THE RIM
The 2018-19 season has provided plenty of highlight reels with the above the rim play by the Cougars. Grant Riller was recently featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day for his posterizing dunk over Drexel defenders on Feb. 9 in Philadelphia. College of Charleston is currently tied with TCU for the eighth-most dunks (71) this season in NCAA Division I – averaging 2.73 per game. Jarrell Brantley leads the team with 18 dunks on the season followed by Riller (15), Brevin Galloway (14), Jaylen Richard (7) and Sam Miller (7).

NCAA DIVISION I LEADERS – MOST DUNKS THIS SEASON
School                     Dunks   Games   Average
1. Duke                    116     19      6.11
2. Little Rock             92      24      3.83
3. LSU                     91      17      5.35
4. Kentucky                86      24      3.58
5. UCF                     81      19      4.26
6. Arkansas                80      18      4.44
7. Auburn                  78      23      3.39
8T. Col. of Charleston     71      26      2.73
8T. TCU                    71      24      2.96
10. Creighton              60      20      3.00

DREXEL RECAP
College of Charleston 86, Drexel 84
• College of Charleston went with the starting five of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Jarrell Brantley. It marked McManus' first start of the season and 14th of his career. He replaced Nick Harris in the lineup, who missed the Drexel game due to family reasons.
• With the win, College of Charleston avenged a 79-78 loss to Drexel on Jan. 10 at TD Arena. The Cougars split the regular-season series with the Dragons and have now won six of the last eight contests between the two schools.
• The Cougars turned in their third-consecutive 20-win season under head coach Earl Grant. The program has now recorded 20-win seasons on 19 all-time occasions since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1991-92.
• Jarrell Brantley registered his 10th 20-point game of the season with a team-high 22 points at Drexel. He fouled out of the ballgame with two rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals in 35 minutes of action. Brantley has tabulated 1,755 career points and 896 rebounds to date which both rank sixth all-time in the CofC record books.
• Grant Riller extended his double-digit scoring streak to 21-consecutive games with 19 points at Drexel. He also dished out a team-best four assists, five rebounds and three steals. Riller was one day removed of celebrating his 22nd birthday and has now tallied 1,624 career points to date.
• Brevin Galloway turned in back-to-back games in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and two 3-pointers at Drexel.
• Marquise Pointer recorded his second double-digit game this season with 13 points in 28 minutes of play at Drexel. It marked a season high and the 29th double-figure scoring game of his career.
• Sam Miller contributed a season-high 11 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from the field at Drexel.
• Jaylen McManus led the team in rebounding for the sixth time of his career with a team-high six boards at Drexel.
• For the second-straight game, the Cougars shot 50 percent or better from the field (52.5%) against Drexel.
• CofC dished out the third-most assists (15) in a single game this season versus the Dragons, while also committing the third-fewest turnovers (6) in a single game this season.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We are coming off two games on the road and we won both. Anytime you can win on the road, you feel like you stole something. This league has so many good teams, good coaches and good players. I thought we played really well at Delaware. We played one of our better 30 minutes of basketball. I thought we played excellent at Drexel for about 37 minutes and then we did what Louisville did last night in the last three minutes. We are getting better. The guys are figuring out our rotations and buying into their roles. We have to play at a high level tomorrow defensively. Play free and spirited on offense like we have in the past. Hopefully, we will have a great crowd in the building tomorrow." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on heading into a tough two-game week at home against Hofstra and Northeastern after going 2-0 on the road last week

"There are certain things you can control. You can't get anything back from yesterday or last week or last month. The only thing we can control is, 'what did we do today in practice? What is our attitude? How do we prepare? How focused are we? Did we develop some confidence in the plan?' The most important thing I'm focused on is the growth of our team and the spirit of the group. That's it, because we have a few games left and then we have the conference tournament. We want to be at our best at the end." – Coach Grant on if he has looked at the CAA standings and how a win against either school this week could help the Cougars in March

"It's big just for us just to keep our winning streak alive. Hofstra and Northeastern are both good teams. We've got a tough week ahead of us. But, I think we are well prepared and we will be ready." – Junior Guard Grant Riller on two big games this week against Hofstra and Northeastern

"We know we killed ourselves at Hofstra. We made mistakes defensively that cost us the game. I didn't think offense was the problem. When we were there, we broke down defensively and they capitalized on it. We are looking forward to it (the rematch). We have a game plan. As always, we take it one game at a time. We will take it full force, clean up some defensive things and come out ready." – Senior Guard Marquise Pointer on the team's last matchup with Hofstra