Wednesday, December 9
TD Arena
7:00 PM
College of Charleston
vs
Marshall
Two-Game Homestand For Cougars This Week Begins With Marshall
12/8/2020 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (1-2, 0-0 CAA) vs. MARSHALL (2-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Game #4
December 9, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (The Zone 94.7 FM | 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: CofC def. Marshall, 76-66, on Nov. 19, 2019 in Huntington, W.Va.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: FloSports Subscription at https://bit.ly/2ZN9NQq
Tickets: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
Digital Game Program: www.CofCSports.com/publications
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Seventh Year at CofC: 119-81
Seventh Year Overall: 119-81
Marshall: Dan D'Antoni
Seventh Year at Marshall: 115-92
Seventh Year Overall: 115-92
TELEVISION AND RADIO (FloSports and College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (1-2) hosts a pair of games this week at TD Arena beginning with a rematch with Marshall (2-0) on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. (ET). The Cougars will have played three games in the course of six short days after a last-minute change to their schedule as Furman replaced No. 19-ranked Richmond last week. In an ever-changing time in college basketball due to COVID-19, Charleston is ready to take on its next opponent – a visiting team which also arrives in the Lowcountry undefeated on the season. Like Furman, the Thundering Herd enter the contest with wins over Arkansas State (70-56) and Wright State (80-64). For the second-consecutive contest, junior guard Zep Jasper has led the Cougars in scoring with back-to-back double-digit performances against Limestone (21 points) and Furman (14 points). He currently ranks No. 14 amongst Colonial Athletic Association scoring leaders averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game and sixth in the league with a 48.6 percent accuracy from the field. Senior big man Osinachi Smart has been a force inside averaging a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest which ranks seventh-most in the CAA. CofC will host South Carolina State (0-5) on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. (ET) as part of a basketball doubleheader with the women's basketball team.
A LOOK AT MARSHALL
This would have been the third-straight road game for Marshall as its schedule has also been disrupted due to COVID-19 twice this season. The Thundering Herd's season opener against Coppin State was cancelled on Nov. 25 and their last game at Akron postponed on Dec. 5. They are led by reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Taevion Kinsey, who knocked down a career-high 31 points in the team's road win at Wright State on Dec. 2.
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2020-21 season on The Zone 94.7 FM and ESPN Radio 910 AM 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 alongside color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#12 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, Jr. (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 25.0 min)
#0 Payton Willis, G, 6-4, 190, Gr.-Sr. (12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 30.0 min)
#55 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 220, Gr.-Sr. (10.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 26.5 min)
#21 Lorenzo Edwards, F, 6-8, 215, Sr. (3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 18.3 min)
#33 Osinachi Smart, C/F, 6-8, 240, Sr. (6.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 27.0 min)
PROJECTED MARSHALL STARTERS
#13 Jarrod West, G, 5-11, 181, Sr. (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 8.5 apg, 36.5 min)
#24 Taevion Kinsey, G, 6-5, 185, Jr. (24.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 34.5 min)
#0 Andrew Taylor, G, 6-3, 188, RS-So. (8.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.0 min)
#25 Obinna Anochili-Killen, F, 6-8, 199, Fr. (4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 16.5 min)
#3 Jannson Williams, F, 6-9, 219, RS-Sr. (4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.5 apg, 18.5 min)
LAST TIME OUT
Five players scored in double figures as College of Charleston picked up its first road win of the season at Marshall, 76-66, on Nov. 19, 2019, at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va. The Cougars shot a season-high 48.4 percent from the field (30-of-62) behind a 9-of-12 performance from Grant Riller, who led all scorers with 22. With CofC trailing by seven in the first half, Riller rattled off nine-straight points to take the lead, 22-19, with 10:21 left on the clock. The Cougars broke things open in the second half of play and led by double digits for the final three minutes. Joining Riller was Sam Miller inside with 13 points, Brevin Galloway with 12 points and Zep Jasper with 10. Jaylen McManus had a near double-double performance with 12 points and game-high nine rebounds.
COUGARS AGAINST CONFERENCE USA
Last year, the Cougars met the Thundering Herd in a first-time meeting with the Conference USA school (W, 76-66) in Huntington, W.Va. CofC is 37-14 all-time (.725) against C-USA including Charlotte (12-11), UAB (2-0), Marshall (1-0), Middle Tennessee (1-1), WKU (0-1), Old Dominion (2-0), FAU (9-0) and FIU (10-1).
BENCH CONTRIBUTION
During the first three games of the season, the Cougars have gotten a spark from its bench in the scoring column behind redshirt freshman forward Dontavius King (11.0 ppg), junior transfer Cameron Copeland (8.0 ppg), sophomore forward DeAngelo Epps (4.0 ppg) and sophomore guard Brenden Tucker (3.7 ppg). In CofC's last two outings, the bench scored 47.4 percent of the team's points combined versus Limestone and Furman.
"Certainly, we need our bench to be good for us. Dontavius has given us great energy off the bench. He's done it in every game that we've played so far. Cam Copeland is another guy that's great for us. He hasn't had as much of an opportunity, but I expect him to get more soon. We also have DeAngelo Epps, who also provides us great energy. We will probably go a little further into our bench with some of the big guys, who have showed great promise in practice. We need to get them out on the floor." – Head Coach Earl Grant
Opponent Bench Points Percentage of Team's Points
at North Carolina 14 of 60 Points 23.3%
vs. Limestone 50 of 99 Points 50.5%
vs. Furman 24 of 57 Points 42.1%
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We have another good team coming in tomorrow in Marshall. Just their pace (is what jumps out to me). They play an NBA style that really wants to get up-and-down the floor in transition. They have older guards. I've been very impressed with their back court. Guys who have been in that program for years. We battled with them last year up at their place. Those guys are very talented – (Jarrod) West and (Taevion) Kinsey. They also have a lot of long bigs that can make some shots from the perimeter. Their pace is the thing that jumps out to me the most and their length. They have played two games and are 2-0. It will definitely be a challenge." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the matchup with Marshall
"Last week was interesting. We definitely did not prepare for what was going to take place. Monday and Tuesday, we put a lot of energy and effort into getting ready for Richmond. I thought the guys were really ready to play. Tuesday night, we told them we weren't playing. Found out we were playing Furman on Thursday. Obviously, it appeared that Furman was more anxious to play us than we were them. They hadn't prepared for any other opponent. They played Wednesday night. Who knows what that factored into? I don't know. I do know, we are a lot better than what we showed. Furman was really, really good. Not too many games that I've coached in 20 years, where an opponent makes that many threes. Our guys did a great job of coming out of the locker room and showing good fight. Working together to make sure that lead didn't get any bigger." – Coach Grant on last week's last-minute switch of games from Richmond to Furman
"It's all about Charleston Basketball No. 1. On my side, it has to be different. From watching the film – just understanding that the way we played – that was not our culture. That's not how we play. That's not Charleston Basketball. For this next game, we have to come out and play Charleston Basketball. That's all we have to do." – Senior Center Osinachi Smart on the team's mindset going into the next stretch of home games
"Things happen for a reason. That kind of teaches us to be ready for anything. The season is pretty long (especially) with COVID (concerns). Anything can happen. We have to be ready to go. Whenever that happens, we have to be ready with whoever we play." – Smart on dealing with the switch of games last week with Richmond and Furman
Game #4
December 9, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (The Zone 94.7 FM | 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: CofC def. Marshall, 76-66, on Nov. 19, 2019 in Huntington, W.Va.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: FloSports Subscription at https://bit.ly/2ZN9NQq
Tickets: www.CofCSports.com/tickets
Digital Game Program: www.CofCSports.com/publications
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Seventh Year at CofC: 119-81
Seventh Year Overall: 119-81
Marshall: Dan D'Antoni
Seventh Year at Marshall: 115-92
Seventh Year Overall: 115-92
TELEVISION AND RADIO (FloSports and College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball team (1-2) hosts a pair of games this week at TD Arena beginning with a rematch with Marshall (2-0) on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. (ET). The Cougars will have played three games in the course of six short days after a last-minute change to their schedule as Furman replaced No. 19-ranked Richmond last week. In an ever-changing time in college basketball due to COVID-19, Charleston is ready to take on its next opponent – a visiting team which also arrives in the Lowcountry undefeated on the season. Like Furman, the Thundering Herd enter the contest with wins over Arkansas State (70-56) and Wright State (80-64). For the second-consecutive contest, junior guard Zep Jasper has led the Cougars in scoring with back-to-back double-digit performances against Limestone (21 points) and Furman (14 points). He currently ranks No. 14 amongst Colonial Athletic Association scoring leaders averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game and sixth in the league with a 48.6 percent accuracy from the field. Senior big man Osinachi Smart has been a force inside averaging a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest which ranks seventh-most in the CAA. CofC will host South Carolina State (0-5) on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. (ET) as part of a basketball doubleheader with the women's basketball team.
A LOOK AT MARSHALL
This would have been the third-straight road game for Marshall as its schedule has also been disrupted due to COVID-19 twice this season. The Thundering Herd's season opener against Coppin State was cancelled on Nov. 25 and their last game at Akron postponed on Dec. 5. They are led by reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Taevion Kinsey, who knocked down a career-high 31 points in the team's road win at Wright State on Dec. 2.
COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2020-21 season on The Zone 94.7 FM and ESPN Radio 910 AM 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 alongside color analyst Danny Johnson on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#12 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, Jr. (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 25.0 min)
#0 Payton Willis, G, 6-4, 190, Gr.-Sr. (12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 30.0 min)
#55 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 220, Gr.-Sr. (10.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 26.5 min)
#21 Lorenzo Edwards, F, 6-8, 215, Sr. (3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 18.3 min)
#33 Osinachi Smart, C/F, 6-8, 240, Sr. (6.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 27.0 min)
PROJECTED MARSHALL STARTERS
#13 Jarrod West, G, 5-11, 181, Sr. (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 8.5 apg, 36.5 min)
#24 Taevion Kinsey, G, 6-5, 185, Jr. (24.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 34.5 min)
#0 Andrew Taylor, G, 6-3, 188, RS-So. (8.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.0 min)
#25 Obinna Anochili-Killen, F, 6-8, 199, Fr. (4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 16.5 min)
#3 Jannson Williams, F, 6-9, 219, RS-Sr. (4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.5 apg, 18.5 min)
LAST TIME OUT
Five players scored in double figures as College of Charleston picked up its first road win of the season at Marshall, 76-66, on Nov. 19, 2019, at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va. The Cougars shot a season-high 48.4 percent from the field (30-of-62) behind a 9-of-12 performance from Grant Riller, who led all scorers with 22. With CofC trailing by seven in the first half, Riller rattled off nine-straight points to take the lead, 22-19, with 10:21 left on the clock. The Cougars broke things open in the second half of play and led by double digits for the final three minutes. Joining Riller was Sam Miller inside with 13 points, Brevin Galloway with 12 points and Zep Jasper with 10. Jaylen McManus had a near double-double performance with 12 points and game-high nine rebounds.
COUGARS AGAINST CONFERENCE USA
Last year, the Cougars met the Thundering Herd in a first-time meeting with the Conference USA school (W, 76-66) in Huntington, W.Va. CofC is 37-14 all-time (.725) against C-USA including Charlotte (12-11), UAB (2-0), Marshall (1-0), Middle Tennessee (1-1), WKU (0-1), Old Dominion (2-0), FAU (9-0) and FIU (10-1).
BENCH CONTRIBUTION
During the first three games of the season, the Cougars have gotten a spark from its bench in the scoring column behind redshirt freshman forward Dontavius King (11.0 ppg), junior transfer Cameron Copeland (8.0 ppg), sophomore forward DeAngelo Epps (4.0 ppg) and sophomore guard Brenden Tucker (3.7 ppg). In CofC's last two outings, the bench scored 47.4 percent of the team's points combined versus Limestone and Furman.
"Certainly, we need our bench to be good for us. Dontavius has given us great energy off the bench. He's done it in every game that we've played so far. Cam Copeland is another guy that's great for us. He hasn't had as much of an opportunity, but I expect him to get more soon. We also have DeAngelo Epps, who also provides us great energy. We will probably go a little further into our bench with some of the big guys, who have showed great promise in practice. We need to get them out on the floor." – Head Coach Earl Grant
Opponent Bench Points Percentage of Team's Points
at North Carolina 14 of 60 Points 23.3%
vs. Limestone 50 of 99 Points 50.5%
vs. Furman 24 of 57 Points 42.1%
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We have another good team coming in tomorrow in Marshall. Just their pace (is what jumps out to me). They play an NBA style that really wants to get up-and-down the floor in transition. They have older guards. I've been very impressed with their back court. Guys who have been in that program for years. We battled with them last year up at their place. Those guys are very talented – (Jarrod) West and (Taevion) Kinsey. They also have a lot of long bigs that can make some shots from the perimeter. Their pace is the thing that jumps out to me the most and their length. They have played two games and are 2-0. It will definitely be a challenge." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the matchup with Marshall
"Last week was interesting. We definitely did not prepare for what was going to take place. Monday and Tuesday, we put a lot of energy and effort into getting ready for Richmond. I thought the guys were really ready to play. Tuesday night, we told them we weren't playing. Found out we were playing Furman on Thursday. Obviously, it appeared that Furman was more anxious to play us than we were them. They hadn't prepared for any other opponent. They played Wednesday night. Who knows what that factored into? I don't know. I do know, we are a lot better than what we showed. Furman was really, really good. Not too many games that I've coached in 20 years, where an opponent makes that many threes. Our guys did a great job of coming out of the locker room and showing good fight. Working together to make sure that lead didn't get any bigger." – Coach Grant on last week's last-minute switch of games from Richmond to Furman
"It's all about Charleston Basketball No. 1. On my side, it has to be different. From watching the film – just understanding that the way we played – that was not our culture. That's not how we play. That's not Charleston Basketball. For this next game, we have to come out and play Charleston Basketball. That's all we have to do." – Senior Center Osinachi Smart on the team's mindset going into the next stretch of home games
"Things happen for a reason. That kind of teaches us to be ready for anything. The season is pretty long (especially) with COVID (concerns). Anything can happen. We have to be ready to go. Whenever that happens, we have to be ready with whoever we play." – Smart on dealing with the switch of games last week with Richmond and Furman
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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Charleston Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs. Drake (11/17/25)
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Charleston Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs. SC State (11/14/25)
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Charleston Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs. Iona (11/14/25)
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