Cougars Prep For Second Duel Of The Season With Drexel

Saturday, February 9

Philadelphia, Pa.

4:00 PM

College of Charleston

Drexel

Cougars Prep For Second Duel Of The Season With Drexel

2/8/2019 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Drexel Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (19-6, 8-4 CAA) vs. DREXEL (12-13, 6-6 CAA)
Game #26
February 9, 2019 • 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,509)
at Philadelphia, Pa.

Television: NBC Sports Philly+ and NBC Sports Washington+
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 9-6
Last Meeting: Drexel def. CofC, 79-78, on Jan. 10, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.DrexelStats.com
Live Video: Live Video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/drexel/
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Fifth Year at CofC: 96-62
Fifth Year Overall: 96-62
Drexel: Zach Spiker
Third Year at Drexel: 34-56
Tenth Year Overall: 136-168

TELEVISION (NBC Sports Philly+ and NBC Sports Washington+)
Play-By-Play: Rob Brooks
Color Analyst: Mike Tuberosa

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German

GAME PREVIEW
Winners of the last five games in conference play, the defending Colonial Athletic Association champion College of Charleston men's basketball team (19-6, 8-4 CAA) prepares for its second duel of the season with Drexel (12-13, 6-6 CAA) on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. (ET) at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia. The game will be televised live regionally on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and NBC Sports Washington+. It's been 30 days since the Dragons last came into TD Arena, won by one point and halted the Cougars' home-court win streak at 22 games. Since then, CofC has flourished having won six of its last eight contests shooting 42 percent or better from the field in all but one game in that stretch. The Cougars returned to their 'road warrior' mindset with an 83-75 outing at Delaware on Feb. 7 – their first win on the road since beating Towson on Jan. 3. They have also taken care of the ball having fewer than 10 miscues in their last four games against William & Mary, James Madison, Towson and Delaware. CofC currently ranks No. 16 in the nation and tops in the league in turnovers per game (10.7). The three-ball was key against the Blue Hens as Charleston shot its second-best percentage from long range this season connecting on 11-of-21 attempts (52.4%). Similar to the Delaware game, a win on Saturday could help position the team for a Top 4 seed at next month's CAA Men's Basketball Championship. The Cougars are still two and a half games back of first-place Hofstra (20-4, 10-1 CAA) and second-place Northeastern (14-9, 8-3 CAA), but hold a two-game lead over Delaware and Drexel, who are tied for fourth.

A LOOK AT DREXEL
The Dragons have won four of their last six including victories over Elon (67-63) on Feb. 2 and UNCW (69-57) on Feb. 7. They will play five of their last seven CAA games at home where they are 8-4 on the season at the DAC. Last year, Drexel was one of only four schools to beat CofC en route to its CAA Championship run. The Dragons have multiple scoring options led by senior guard Troy Harper, who is averaging 15.6 points per game. Defensively, they held UNCW in their last outing to just 38.1 percent shooting from the field and 11.1 percent from beyond the arc. Drexel also limited the Seahawks' big man Devontae Cacok to under a double-double with just 15 points and nine rebounds.

ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON IN REACH
The Cougars are one win away from turning in their third-consecutive 20-win season under fifth-year head coach Earl Grant. College of Charleston has recorded 20-win seasons on 18 all-time occasions since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1991-92. Last season, CofC ironically captured its 20th win of the season against Drexel (W, 89-67) during CofC Homecoming Weekend on Feb. 10, 2018 at TD Arena.

COFC NCAA DIVISION I ALL-TIME 20-WIN SEASONS
1993-94: 24-4 (NCAA First Round)
1994-95: 23-6 (NIT First Round)
1995-96: 25-4 (NIT Second Round)
1996-97: 29-3 (NCAA Second Round)
1997-98: 24-6 (NCAA First Round)
1998-99: 28-3 (NCAA First Round)
1999-00: 24-6
2000-01: 22-7
2001-02: 21-9
2002-03: 25-8 (NIT Second Round)
2003-04: 20-9
2006-07: 22-11
2008-09: 27-9 (CBI Quarterfinals)
2009-10: 22-12 (CBI Quarterfinals)
2010-11: 26-11 (NIT Quarterfinals)
2012-13: 24-11 (CBI First Round)
2016-17: 25-10 (NIT First Round)
2017-18: 26-8 (NCAA First Round)

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 the Daskalakis Athletic Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#21 Marquise Pointer, G, 6-0, 210, Sr. (4.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 21.6 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Jr. (21.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 35.6 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, So. (8.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.1 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 255, Sr. (18.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 33.3 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 270, Sr. (3.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.3 apg, 19.7 min)

PROJECTED DREXEL STARTERS
#3 Troy Harper, G, 6-1, 175, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 30.1 min)
#11 Camren Wynter, G, 6-2, 175, Fr. (10.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.3 apg, 33.4 min)
#23 Trevor John, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 32.3 min)
#30 Alihan Demir, F, 6-9, 232, Jr. (14.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 30.1 min)
#51 James Butler, F, 6-8, 242, So. (10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 0.6 apg, 26.7 min)

INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston leads 9-6 in the all-time series with Drexel. The Cougars have won five of the last seven contests in the series and are 1-4 lifetime when playing the Dragons in Philadelphia. The program's lone road win in the series was a 90-76 victory on Jan. 28, 2017 at the DAC.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 78-79 (-1) on Jan. 10, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 66-59 (+7) on March 4, 2018 at North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 89-67 (+22) on Feb. 10, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 82-87 OT (-5) on Jan. 5, 2018 at Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 80-67 (+13) on Feb. 25, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 90-76 (+14) on Jan. 28, 2017 at Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 60-38 (+22) on Feb. 6, 2016 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 54-61 (-7) on Jan. 9, 2016 at Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 56-48 (+8) on March 6, 2015 at Baltimore, Md.^
L, 45-59 (-14) on Feb. 7, 2015 at Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament

TRIPLE SCORING THREAT
College of Charleston is one of 12 NCAA Division I programs to have three teammates with a combined 4,000+ career points this season. The Cougars boast the triple-scoring threat of senior Jarrell Brantley (1,733), junior Grant Riller (1,605) and senior Marquise Pointer (779) – the ninth-best scoring trio in the country with 4,117 combined career points to date. Of those programs, only CofC, Marshall and Buffalo currently have two 1,500-point scorers on its roster.

Current NCAA Division-I Teammate Trios With 4000+ Combined Points
1. South Dakota State: 4,760 – Mike Daum (2,854), David Jenkins Jr. (1,029) and Skyler Flatten (877)
2. Lipscomb: 4,530 – Garrison Mathews (2,167), Rob Marberry (1,248) and Nathan Moran (1,115)
3. Campbell: 4,488 – Chris Clemons (2,898), Andrew Eudy (814) and Marcus Burk (776)
4. Wofford: 4,483 – Fletcher Magee (2,276), Cameron Jackson (1,252) and Nathan Hoover (955)
5. Marshall: 4,453 – Jon Elmore (2,365), C.J. Burks (1,671) and Jarrod West (417)
6. Georgia Southern: 4,354 – Tookie Brown (2,114), Ike Smith (1,480) and Montae Glenn (760)
7. Buffalo: 4,149 – CJ Massinburg (1,741), Nick Perkins (1,546) and Jeremy Harris (862)
8. Kansas State: 4,121 – Barry Brown Jr. (1,623), Dean Wade (1,413) and Kamau Stokes (1,085)
9. College of Charleston: 4,117 – Jarrell Brantley (1,733), Grant Riller (1,605) and Marquise Pointer (779)
10. Elon: 4,050 – Tyler Seibring (1,689), Steven Santa Ana (1,271) and Dainan Swoope (1,090)
11. USC Upstate: 4,031 – Deion Holmes (1,469), Malik Moore (1,381) and Mike Cunningham (1,181)
12. Montana State: 4,007 – Tyler Hall (2,302), Harald Frey (1,163) and Keljin Blevins (542)

DELAWARE RECAP
College of Charleston 83, Delaware 75
• For the 12th-straight CAA game, College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Marquise Pointer, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris (8-4).
• With the win, College of Charleston swept the regular-season series with Delaware for the third-consecutive year. The Cougars now lead the all-time series, 10-5, and extended their win streak to seven-straight games against the Blue Hens.
• Grant Riller extended his career-best double-digit scoring streak to 20-consecutive games this season with a game-high 20 points at Delaware. It marked his 16th game this season with 20+ points. He also brought down a career-high tying seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Riller has now tabulated 1,605 career points to date and recorded his first 100+ assist season.
• Zep Jasper turned in double figures in back-to-back games with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field including a trio of three-pointers at Delaware. It marked his sixth double-figure scoring game this season.
• Brevin Galloway recorded his 10th double-figure scoring game this season with 13 points at Delaware. He knocked down three 3-pointers in 29 minutes of action.
• Jarrell Brantley scored all of his 12 points in the second half at Delaware. He fouled out of the ballgame, but added five rebounds, three assists and one steal to the winning cause. Brantley has tabulated 1,733 career points and 894 career rebounds to date.
• The Cougars scored 83 points which was their biggest scoring output of the season in conference play. It marked their sixth game this season in the 80s.
• CofC got 31 of its points from its bench including Jasper, nine points from Jaylen McManus and six from Sam Miller.
• The Cougars were hot from long range and tied a season-high with 11 three-pointers made against the Blue Hens. They also drained 11 threes versus Memphis in the AdvoCare Invitational on Nov. 15.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We knew Delaware was going to be hard enough. We play a Thursday-Saturday schedule in league play. It's a challenge, because you don't want to look ahead (to Drexel), because you could slip up in your Thursday game. But, it's easier the second time around to prepare, because you have faced the opponent. You know what you did in the first game. You know what worked and you know what didn't work. We beat ourselves that night and we know that. It was three weeks ago and we are just getting over that. We didn't do a good enough job, both the staff and players, the last time we played them. It will be another battle for sure." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on preparing for another tough two-game road swing without looking ahead to the Drexel rematch

"The biggest thing is we are trying to find a way to improve. We took a hit on the road a couple of weeks back. We were excited about getting back on the road to see if we had gotten better. We did a lot of good things tonight (against Delaware). We have a game on Saturday and we want to build on it and see if we can continue to make some strides in the right direction." – Coach Grant on getting the win over Delaware to jumpstart the week on the road

"He's a big-time shooter. No way we would have the type of season that we've had without his shooting, especially in the non-conference because he did some really good things. We expect him to make shots and we expect him to take them. He is a confident kid. He's a great passer and found his teammates. I thought the guys did a great job of sharing it tonight." – Coach Grant on Grant Riller's 20 points and four assists in the Delaware game

"He was unbelievable. Obviously, he had to step-up and play a lot more minutes today with Marquise (Pointer) taking a bump to the knee. He had to take on much of a heavier load. He started the first 11 games. It wasn't like he was a freshman put in a moment that he hadn't been in. He had to run the show earlier on in the season. When Marquise went down with the bump, he was very comfortable in that position." – Coach Grant on the play of Zep Jasper off the bench against Delaware

"It's crunch time, so I want to start making my shots. They (Drexel) have pretty good guards. They are fast. They get to the basket anytime they want to. It's going to be a tough game. They are a good team and fight just like us." – Redshirt Freshman Guard Zep Jasper on being able to contribute in scoring and not just defense for the Cougars heading into the Drexel rematch