Towson Next Road Test For Cougars As CAA Race Heats Up

Saturday, February 1

Towson, Md.

2:00 PM

College of Charleston

Towson

Towson Next Road Test For Cougars As CAA Race Heats Up

1/31/2020 6:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Towson Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (13-9, 7-3 CAA) vs. TOWSON (13-9, 7-3 CAA)
Game #23
February 1, 2020 • 2:00 p.m. (ET)
SECU Arena (5,200)
at Towson, Md.

Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 10-7
Last Meeting: CofC def. Towson, 81-69, on Jan. 2, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.TowsonStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: FloSports Subscription at http://bit.ly/2JP6sGV
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Sixth Year at CofC: 114-74
Sixth Year Overall: 114-74
Towson: Pat Skerry
Ninth Year at Towson: 136-144
Ninth Year Overall: 136-144

TELEVISION (FloSports)
Play-By-Play: Brent Harris
Color Analyst: John Feinstein

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

GAME PREVIEW
With eight games remaining and the conference race heating up, the College of Charleston men's basketball team (13-9, 7-3 CAA) starts its final stretch and the month of February anew with its next road test at Towson (13-9, 7-3 CAA) on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. (ET) in Towson, Md. The Cougars and Tigers are both currently in a three-way tie for second with preseason Colonial Athletic Association favorite Hofstra and one game back of William & Mary. Since the last time both teams played each other in Charleston, an 81-69 win in favor of the Cougars at TD Arena, the Tigers have won seven in a row in league play. CofC bounced back after three-straight, single-digit close games at home with an 87-68 road win at James Madison on Jan. 30. Senior guard Grant Riller poured in a season-high 36 points as the Cougars swept the regular-season series versus the Dukes. Round II with the Tigers will be another battle between two of the top defensive ballclubs in the league as Towson is holding opponents to 65.9 points per game and Charleston 67.8 points per game.

EYEING THE TIGERS
The Tigers' conference-leading, seven-game win streak is the first since the 2017-18 season under ninth-year head coach Pat Skerry, who was previously an assistant coach at College of Charleston from 2003-05. Freshman guard Jason Gibson is the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week after helping Towson to a 2-0 record last week with big road wins over Elon (72-61) on Jan. 23 and William & Mary (70-58) on Jan. 25.

COACHES POWERING FORWARD
On the weekend of Jan. 31, Feb. 1 & 2, coaches from across the country will be raising money for autism through Coaches Powering Forward for Autism benefiting Autism Speaks. Coaches will also be wearing the blue puzzle piece pin on their suit jackets during the games this weekend. This is part of college basketball's autism awareness weekend, an effort started by Towson Head Coach Pat Skerry and USF Assistant Coach Tom Herrion. It has since gone national with support from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Autism Speaks.

COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2019-20 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 SECU Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 175, So. (7.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 29.2 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (22.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 32.8 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, Jr. (11.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 30.1 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 27.0 min)
#20 Sam Miller, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 22.9 min)

PROJECTED TOWSON STARTERS
#3 Allen Betrand, G, 6-5, 200, So. (13.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 28.8 min)
#23 Brian Fobbs, G, 6-5, 210, Sr. (16.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 31.5 min)
#10 Jason Gibson, G, 6-1, 165, Fr. (7.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 24.3 min)
#11 Dennis Tunstall, F, 6-9, 225, RS-Sr. (4.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.4 apg, 22.2 min)
#20 Nakye Sanders, F, 6-8, 240, RS-Sr. (9.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 22.5 min)

SERIES HISTORY
College of Charleston owns a three-game advantage in the all-time series with Towson, 10-7. The Cougars have won five of the last six meetings between the two schools sweeping the regular-season series a year ago including a 67-55 victory at SECU Arena on Jan. 3, 2019.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 81-69 (+12) on Jan. 2, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 54-53 (+1) on Feb. 2, 2019 in Charleston, S.C.
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.
^ CAA Tournament

ROAD WARRIORS
Road wins are very hard to come by in the CAA. This season, the Cougars and Tribe of William & Mary have tallied the second-most wins (4) on the road against conference foes behind Hofstra (5). All three stand atop the league standings in first and tied for second respectively, showing why winning road games are crucial in a tight conference race.

COUGAR D
In their last outing, the Cougar defense converted 12 turnovers committed by James Madison into 28 points. It was the team's highest-scoring output on turnovers this season in a single game. The Cougars previously scored 20 points off of 19 turnovers versus Coker on Dec. 8 and 19 points off of 18 turnovers at Marshall on Nov. 19.

"That's a big deal for us. We like to run. We want to attack you in transition. We got some transition threes, layups and a couple of dunks. We also got to the free throw line. We really want to run when we get steals. We really want to run when we get stops and misses. We certainly did a good job of attacking and making the right decisions at the end of the break (against JMU)." – Head Coach Earl Grant

JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 87, James Madison 68
• For the 12th-straight game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller (8-4).
• With the win, College of Charleston improves to 12-4 in the all-time series with James Madison. It was the Cougars' last game inside of the JMU Convocation Center, where they went 4-3 since joining the CAA in 2013. CofC swept the regular-season series with the Dukes for the third time in the last four seasons.
• Grant Riller extended his double-digit scoring streak to 50-consecutive games with a season-high 36 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and a career-best 6-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc at James Madison. It marked his third 30-point game of the season and 14th of his career. He has now tabulated 2,280 career points to date and moved into sixth all-time in CAA history.
• Brevin Galloway scored in double figures for the 14th time this season with 13 points and a career-high tying five steals at JMU.
• Zep Jasper joined Riller and Galloway in double figures with 12 points including 2-for-2 from long range against the Dukes. It marked his 15th double-figure scoring game of his career and ninth of the season.
• The Cougars recorded their highest-scoring output of the season with 87 points against James Madison. Their previous season high was 85 points versus the Dukes in both teams' first conference meeting of the season on Jan. 4 at TD Arena.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"Our team had a good toughness level about them. We came in and created our own energy. We did a good job in the middle of the first half of creating our own energy. We got a couple of big blocked shots by Jaylen Richard and DeAngelo Epps took a charge to get our bench and our energy level going. We did a great job of sharing the ball and trying to get to the paint first. Because we got to the paint, we were able to get some good rhythm threes and we shot the ball well." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on what the Cougars did well to pick up the road win at James Madison

"It's really hard on the road. You have to find a way to steal one on the road. You have to defend and you have to keep their fans out of the game. It's also going to have to be a war on the glass – really physical, a lot of contact and a lot of bodies flying all around for rebounds. If you win the rebounding war, you have a good chance." – Coach Grant on the physical battle ahead at Towson

"We are playing our young guys and giving them opportunities. Maybe at some point, they will be that 'unusual suspect' and show up and do some good things for us. Those guys really did a good job of giving us a lift." – Grant on playing the younger players on the team all season, especially with their contributions in the JMU road win

"We have seen him have big games like that before. He was aggressive and he was patient. He didn't force a lot and didn't shoot a high percentage – only 11-for-17 and 6-for-7 from three. We were trying to find a way to get some longer possessions and score at the end of the clock. Get the ball in his hand and Zep Jasper's hand, so we could keep them out of transition as much as we could. I thought at the end of the clock, he made a couple of big threes, got in the paint and got to the free throw line. Obviously, he played really well, and certainly, we needed him to do that on the road for us to find a way to win the game." – Grant on Riller's 36-point outburst against the Dukes