COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (21-8, 10-6 CAA) vs. ELON (9-19, 5-10 CAA)
Game #30
February 23, 2019 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Schar Center (5,100)
at Elon, N.C.
 
Television: None
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 20-7
Last Meeting: CofC def. Elon, 72-53, on Jan. 24, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.ElonStats.com
Live Video: Live Video at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/elon/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fifth Year at CofC: 98-64
Fifth Year Overall: 98-64
Elon: Matt Matheny
10th Year at Elon: 149-167
10th Year Overall: 149-167
 
TELEVISION (None)
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
 
GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (21-8, 10-6 CAA) makes one last regular-season road trip to Elon (9-19, 5-10 CAA) for a Saturday, Feb. 23 Colonial Athletic Association rematch between the two former Southern Conference rivals. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) in Elon, N.C. The Cougars are looking to shake off an 86-84 overtime road loss at William & Mary, while the Phoenix look to send off their four seniors with back-to-back wins after beating UNCW (84-77) on Feb. 21. This will be the first time in 28 all-time meetings that CofC and Elon will play each other at the new, 5,100-capacity Schar Center, which the Phoenix opened with North Carolina on Nov. 19, 2018. Many close barn burners were played in the old Alumni Gym including last year's five-point decision that went in favor of the home team. Senior forward Jarrell Brantley has turned in back-to-back double-double performances in each of the Cougars' last two overtime games against Northeastern and W&M. He tallied a near triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and career-high seven assists versus the Tribe, while also moving into fourth all-time in career scoring. Brantley could become only the second player in program history to reach the 2,000-career point and 1,000-career rebound mark with two games remaining in the CAA race. While known more for their stingy defense, the Cougars have increased their scoring output this season averaging 74.4 points per game with 83-or-more points over the last five-game stretch. They are currently in third place in the latest conference standings behind Hofstra and Northeastern.
 
SCOUTING ELON
With multiple sharpshooters, Elon leads the conference in three-point field goals made this season averaging 10.1 per game which ranks No. 17 nationally. The Phoenix knocked down 17 treys in their win over UNCW including five from senior guard Steven Santa Ana, who ended the night with a game-high 31 points. Elon is one of three CAA teams next to CofC and Hofstra to have two of the top scoring duos in the league in Santa Ana (15.4 ppg) and senior forward Tyler Seibring (16.3 ppg).
 
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 Schar Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#21 Marquise Pointer, G, 6-0, 210, Sr. (4.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 23.0 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (22.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 35.6 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.8 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (19.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 34.0 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 19.1 min)
 
PROJECTED ELON STARTERS
#12 Nathan Priddy, G, 6-2, 185, So. (7.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 25.7 min)
#22 Steven Santa Ana, G, 6-4, 190, Sr. (15.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 32.0 min)
#0 Kris Wooten, G, 6-3, 190, Fr. (5.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 19.6 min)
#1 Chuck Hannah, F, 6-6, 230, Fr. (4.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 19.9 min)
#41 Tyler Seibring, F, 6-9, 225, Sr. (16.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 32.3 min)
 
SERIES HISTORY
College of Charleston leads 20-7 in the all-time series with Elon. Last year, both schools split the regular-season series protecting each of their home courts. The Cougars have won 12 of the last 15 meetings in the series extending back to the Southern Conference rivalry years with the Phoenix. Charleston joined the CAA in July of 2013 and Elon in July of 2014.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 72-53 (+19) on Jan. 24, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 79-58 (+21) on Feb. 22, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 58-63 (-5) on Jan. 13, 2018 at Elon, N.C.
W, 71-58 (+13) on Feb. 4, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 66-54 (+12) on Dec. 31, 2016 at Elon, N.C.
W, 66-62 (+4) on Feb. 13, 2016 at Elon, N.C.
L, 64-65 (-1) on Jan. 16, 2016 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 77-63 (+14) on Feb. 18, 2015 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 66-50 (+16) on Jan. 14, 2015 at Elon, N.C.
W, 68-60 (+8) on March 11, 2013 at Asheville, N.C.^
^ SoCon Tournament
 
WILLIAM & MARY RECAP
William & Mary 86, College of Charleston 84
• College of Charleston went with the starting lineup of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris for the 15th time this season (9-6).
• William & Mary split the regular-season series with College of Charleston and takes a two-game 8-6 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. The Tribe remains an undefeated 6-0 against the Cougars at Kaplan Arena.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his 10th double-double of the season with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds at William & Mary. He also dished out a career-high seven assists in 41 minutes of action. It marked his 33rd career double-double and 13th 20-point game of the season. Brantley surpassed both Sam Meade (1970-74) and Joe Chealey (2013-18) on the school's all-time career scoring list. He now ranks fourth all-time with 1,833 career points to date. Entering the game, Brantley was tied with former CofC big man Adjehi Baru (2011-15) and moved into fifth all-time by himself in career rebounding with 928 career rebounds to date.
• Grant Riller extended his career-best double-digit scoring streak to 24 consecutive games with 22 points at William & Mary. He has now tabulated 1,722 career points to date which ranks seventh all-time.
• Sam Miller came off the bench and contributed a season-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field against the Tribe. It marked his third double-figure scoring game of the season.
• It marked the second-straight overtime game and second this season for the Cougars (1-1).
• CofC committed 17 turnovers in the ballgame which was the second-most of the season next to 17 at Northeastern on Jan. 17.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I was proud of some things that happened in the game and proud of our guys' effort. Offense wasn't the problem. We had too many miscues, unforced turnovers and didn't finish the way we needed to around the basket. We got undisciplined, gambled a few times and gave up open shots on defense. They tried to do a lot of what we needed them to do, but we just had some breakdowns. We need to find a way to get better the next 24 hours. We have another tough road game on Saturday at Elon and have one more at home next Saturday against UNCW." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the William & Mary overtime game
 
"Sam (Miller) played really well for us. He made shots around the basket. He was physical. I'm glad to see him step-up and do some good things." – Coach Grant on the team's bench play at William & Mary and season-high scoring performance from junior forward Sam Miller
 
"I put a lot of time into my craft. I think I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't give it everything I have on the court. I'm pretty versatile and can do a lot of things on the court. It's my duty to be free out there and that's a testament to how I am playing right now." – Senior Forward Jarrell Brantley on playing his best basketball the last two weeks
 
"Coach (Grant) puts the ball in my hands a lot. Between me and Grant (Riller), we get a lot of the touches. Now I am learning that everyone of those touches isn't going to be a shot. I have to make plays for the rest of my team, if we want to be in a position to win." – Brantley on his career-high seven assists at William & Mary