COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (10-6, 4-0 CAA) vs. ELON (4-12, 0-3 CAA)
Game #17
January 9, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Schar Center (5,100)
at Elon, N.C.
 
Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 21-7
Last Meeting: CofC def. Elon, 84-74, on Feb. 23, 2019 in Elon, N.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.ElonStats.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: 111-71
Sixth Year Overall: 111-71
Elon: Mike Schrage
First Year at Elon: 4-12
First Year Overall: 4-12
 
TELEVISION (FloSports)
Play-By-Play: Taylor Durham
Color Analyst: Brian Morris
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
 
GAME PREVIEW
It's two for the road as the College of Charleston men's basketball team (10-6, 4-0 CAA) takes a five-game win streak to Elon (4-12, 0-3 CAA) in a Thursday, Jan. 9 meeting between the two former Southern Conference rivals slated for 7 p.m. (ET) in Elon, N.C. After a challenging non-conference slate, the Cougars have found their groove and remain one of only two unbeaten teams in the CAA next to William & Mary (11-5, 3-0 CAA). The Phoenix and Tribe both had a one-game bye week to open up conference play on Week 1. CofC is averaging 79.0 points per game against conference foes, while defensively holding them to 66.5 points per game. Reigning CAA Player of the Week Grant Riller is averaging a league-leading 22.2 points per game (25.8 ppg in conference only games), which also ranks No. 7 nationally. In the team's last outing, he and junior guard Brevin Galloway combined for 52 of Charleston's season-high 85 points in a home victory over James Madison. They are 2-0 on the road this season stealing back-to-back games at Drexel and Delaware prior to the New Year. This will only be the second time for the Cougars to play at Elon's Schar Center after playing some memorable barn-burner games at the old Alumni Gym on campus.
 
SCOUTING ELON
Elon is led by first-year head coach Mike Schrage, who was previously an assistant coach at Stanford, Butler and Ohio State. After graduating a big Senior Class last season, the Phoenix have rebuilt with the addition of graduate senior guard Marcus Sheffield, who is a transfer from Stanford and averaging a team-leading 16.9 points per game. He currently ranks seventh among CAA scoring leaders.
 
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 the Schar Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 175, So. (7.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 29.4 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (22.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 32.3 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, Jr. (11.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 29.3 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 27.3 min)
#20 Sam Miller, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (7.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 22.7 min)
 
PROJECTED ELON STARTERS
#0 Hunter McIntosh, G, 6-3, 180, Fr. (10.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 29.6 min)
#4 Marcus Sheffield, G, 6-5, 180, Gr.-Sr. (16.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 31.6 min)
#14 Zac Ervin, F, 6-5, 215, Fr. (8.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 20.6 min)
#25 Hunter Woods, F, 6-6, 193, Fr. (10.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 26.3 min)
#33 Simon Wright, F, 6-7, 215, Jr. (6.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 26.3 min)
 
SERIES NOTES
College of Charleston leads 21-7 in the all-time series with Elon. Last year, the Cougars swept the regular-season series. They have won 13 of the last 16 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, 84-74 (+10) on Feb. 23, 2019 in Elon, N.C.
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.
 
THE GALLOWAY WAY
Junior guard Brevin Galloway has found his shot and way this season. Since sporting a white headband and registering a career-high 22 points at Richmond on Dec. 14, he has scored in double figures in six of the Cougars' last seven games. He is currently on the longest double-digit scoring streak of his career (four-straight games). Galloway says he got his headband from 2019 NBA Draft Pick Jarrell Brantley, who sported the headband frequently during his CofC career. Hailing from an athletic family where his mom, Donna Carr, played collegiate volleyball at Georgia, his younger brother, Braden, is currently a sophomore tight end at Clemson. The Tigers will be playing in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night in New Orleans and Brevin will be rooting for his brother from Charleston.
 
FOR THREE
Over the last four CAA contests, the Cougars have made 8-or-more three-pointers in three of those games including at Drexel (11), Towson (8) and James Madison (13). Charleston is led in 3-point shooting by Galloway, who is shooting a team-best 39.2 percent clip from long range this season. He currently ranks fourth in the league averaging 2.5 threes per game. The team school-record for most threes in a single game is 17 that occurred against Elon on Feb. 22, 2018 at TD Arena, while the individual record is held by former CofC greats Troy Wheless and Dontaye Draper (8). Galloway was one shy of that record as he knocked down a career-high seven triples against JMU on Jan. 4.
 
JAMES MADISON RECAP
College of Charleston 85, James Madison 69
• For the sixth-straight game, College of Charleston went with the starting lineup of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller (5-1).
• With the win, College of Charleston improved to 10-5 in the all-time series with James Madison. The Cougars have now won seven of the last eight meetings between the two schools.
• Grant Riller registered his first 30-point game of the season with a game-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and two 3-pointers against JMU. He is now the sole school-record holder for most career 30-point games (12). Riller also surpassed former CofC all-time leading scorer Ken Gustafson (1971-75) for second on the school's all-time career scoring list with his first points of the second half of play. He has now tallied 2,151 career points to date and is 421 points away from current all-time scoring leader Andrew Goudelock (2007-11), who broke Gustafson's 36-year-old record in 2011.
• Brevin Galloway recorded 21 points including 18 in the first half of play versus James Madison. It was one shy of his career high. He has now scored in double figures in six of the team's last seven contests. Galloway shot a career-best 7-of-10 from long range.
• The Cougars scored a season-high 85 points behind Riller and Galloway's 31-and 21-point performance against the Dukes and turned in their third largest margin of victory versus an opponent this season (+16).
• Defensively, CofC also held its fifth-straight opponent in the 60s.
• Charleston drained a season-best 13 three-pointers and shot a season-best 56.5 percent from beyond the arc against the Dukes.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"When we scheduled it, I scheduled it because we wanted to win some of those games. We did win some of those games. We had a couple of losses and close games that we weren't happy about. I do think it helped us. It gave us inner strength. We saw a bit of everything on the road and at home. Obviously, it's now paying some dividends. We have a lot more challenges coming up. We have to keep working at it and build on what we have done so far. We look to continue to improve on this next stretch of games on the road." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's 4-0 start to conference play and how the non-conference helped prepare the Cougars
 
"We are still trying to figure out who we are. We are trying to discover ourselves a little bit. This is a new team. We are playing a lot of different guys. Some guys have emerged and some guys are still coming into themselves and understanding what we need from them. We have to keep working on our defense. We have to get more stops and finish with rebounding. We are making the right strides and are getting better." – Coach Grant on what the team can still work on despite the 4-0 start
 
"We do it one day and one game at a time. We can only deal with what is front of us. Right now, what's important is what we did well against James Madison to get ready for our next game at Elon. All of these games are hard. It's the next game up for us on Thursday." – Grant on how conference play is currently shaking out with CofC and William & Mary unbeaten
 
"He's a special player. We knew that when we recruited him. I pray he continues to have an opportunity to chase his dreams, do some good things and can leave some footprints in the sand here at the College of Charleston. He is doing that and in the middle of it living his dream. For Grant, this stuff is happening, but when it comes down to it, he just wants to win." – Grant on Grant Riller moving into second all-time on the career scoring list with a chance to break the record by year's end at The College
 
"Definitely the competition level and what each team brought to the table. We faced teams with different  length and skill sets. Going into conference play, we have seen everything we will see. It definitely prepared us." – Junior Guard Brevin Galloway on how the non-conference has prepared the team to its current 4-0 start to conference play