First Place On The Line Again, This Time at Hofstra

Thursday, February 13

Hempstead, N.Y.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Hofstra

First Place On The Line Again, This Time at Hofstra

2/12/2020 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Hofstra Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (15-10, 9-4 CAA) vs. HOFSTRA (18-7, 9-3 CAA)
Game #26
February 13, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Mack Sports Complex (5,023)
at Hempstead, N.Y.

Television: CBS Sports Network
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 7-6
Last Meeting: CofC def. Hofstra, 69-67, on Jan. 18, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.HofstraStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: www.CBSSports.com/Live
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Sixth Year at CofC: 116-75
Sixth Year Overall: 116-75
Hofstra: Joe Mihalich
Seventh Year at Hofstra: 133-91
22nd Year Overall: 398-294

TELEVISION (CBS Sports Network)
Play-By-Play: Scott Graham
Color Analyst: Donny Marshall

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

GAME PREVIEW
First place in the Colonial Athletic Association will be on the line again as the College of Charleston men's basketball team (15-10, 9-4 CAA) travels to Hofstra (18-7, 9-3 CAA) for a Thursday, Feb. 13 showdown at 7 p.m. (ET) in Hempstead, N.Y. The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. Five contests remain in a close conference race with a half game separating the second-place Cougars and first-place Pride in the latest league standings. Just a week ago, Charleston held the top spot after splitting the regular-season series with a 68-50 statement win over William & Mary on Feb. 6 at TD Arena, but fell a half game back with a 72-65 loss to Elon on Feb. 8. The Cougars own a conference-best 5-1 mark in road games this season. With an emphasis in protecting the ball and making every shot count, they currently rank No. 11 nationally in turnovers per game (10.8 avg.) and No. 14 in free-throw percentage (77.3%). Hofstra, picked as the preseason CAA favorite, is ranked No. 21 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, while CofC is receiving votes. It will be another battle between the league's top offensive ballclub in Hofstra (76.6 ppg) versus a Charleston defense holding opponents to 67.4 points per game.

EYE ON THE PRIDE
Hofstra is currently on a four-game win streak including a 75-71 win at home over travel partner Northeastern on Feb. 8. The Pride and Huskies are both coming off a one-game bye week in league play. Senior guard Desure Buie is averaging a team-leading 18.7 points per game. He is one of five starters on the team averaging double figures in the scoring column – the only CAA squad to have all five players ranked in the conference's Top 25 scoring list this season.

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 Mack Sports Complex on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 175, So. (7.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 29.6 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (21.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 33.2 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 30.5 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, Sr. (8.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.5 apg, 27.0 min)
#20 Sam Miller, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.9 apg, 23.3 min)

PROJECTED HOFSTRA STARTERS
#4 Desure Buie, G, 5-11, 160, Sr. (18.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, 36.5 min)
#20 Jalen Ray, G, 6-2, 175, Jr. (12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 32.0 min)
#5 Eli Pemberton, G, 6-5, 195, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 35.7 min)
#0 Tareq Coburn, F, 6-5, 205, Sr. (10.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 30.2 min)
#32 Isaac Kante, C, 6-7, 240, Jr. (10.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 28.2 min)

SERIES HISTORY
College of Charleston leads 7-6 in in the all-time series with Hofstra. Seven of the last eight contests in the series have been decided in single digits including the previous meeting between the two schools on Jan. 18 at TD Arena. Three players were in double figures including 20 points from Sam Miller, Grant Riller (17) and Zep Jasper (13).

LAST EIGHT GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 69-67 (+2) on Jan. 18, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 95-99 (-4) on Feb. 14, 2019 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 72-86 (-14) on Jan. 19, 2019 at Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 86-85 (+1) on Feb. 3, 2018 in Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 76-70 (+6) on Jan. 20, 2018 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 76-72 (+4) on Feb. 16, 2017 in Hempstead, N.Y.
W, 77-71 (+6) on Jan. 7, 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 63-72 (-9) on Feb. 27, 2016 in Hempstead, N.Y.

NEARING ANOTHER 10-WIN CAMPAIGN
The Cougars need one more win to turn in their fourth-straight 10-win campaign in conference play under Head Coach Earl Grant. In seven seasons as members of the Colonial, they have compiled a 66-53 (.555) overall record against conference foes and a 49-18 mark (.731) over the last four years under Grant.

2016-17: 14-4
2017-18: 14-4
2018-19: 12-6

ELON RECAP
Elon 72, College of Charleston 65
• For the 15th-straight game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller (10-5).
• College of Charleston split the regular-season series with Elon, which snapped a four-game losing streak in the series between the two former Southern Conference rivals. It was only the eighth win ever for the Phoenix in the 30-game series.
• Grant Riller led the Cougars with a team-high 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals against Elon. It marked his 14th 20-point outing this season and 46th of his career. He has now scored in double figures in 53-consecutive games and tabulated 2,344 career points to date.
• Zep Jasper also turned in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field against Elon. It marked his 10th of the season and 16th of his career.
• Brevin Galloway extended his double-double scoring streak to a career-best tying five-straight games with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc versus the Phoenix.
• Osinachi Smart recorded his first career double-double with a career-high tying 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench versus Elon. He played only 19 minutes and also went 4-for-5 from the free throw line and had a blocked shot.
• The Cougars donned throwback uniforms replicating those worn by former College of Charleston men's basketball teams in the 1960s.
• CofC had a sellout crowd of 5,108 fans in attendance against Elon at TD Arena – the 10th largest all-time crowd in program history in the venue.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"It's always a big game and always a challenge when we play them. I am excited, because we are playing in another meaningful game. There are some teams that are not playing in meaningful games during this time of the year. Certainly, we will have to play well. I am excited to take our team on the road, compete and see how we can go out and fight. Try to continue to finish this season the right way and make something special happen." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the rematch with Hofstra

"Typically, they (Hofstra) play zone the whole game. We have to do a great job of having a balanced attack against it. There will be threes that we need to take. There will be opportunities to get the ball in the high post. We have to offensive rebound. You have to be skilled and be patient. Find cracks in it and let things develop. We have been very effective against the zone this season. We will try to go up Thursday and execute our game plan." – Coach Grant on going up against Hofstra's zone defense

"The majority of the games in the league are close. I lot of the winning margins haven't been big. If a team losses, it hasn't been by a big margin. There is a lot of parity in the league. You have to play well and value your possessions to the best of your ability. You have to defend your butt off in order to have a chance to win." – Grant on every game in the league going down-to-the-wire

"Playing on the road is always tough. It's going to be on TV for first place again. But, those are the kinds of games you want to play in as a kid growing up. The whole world is watching and you want to be able to go out and prove yourself. Us as a team, I feel our mentality hasn't changed. I feel like we kinda let off the gas on Saturday (against Elon) after William & Mary. We have to stay level headed. After we captured first place last week, I don't want to go back down and fight for it again. We have to handle business and try to remain on top." - Galloway on a key CAA rematch against Hofstra on Thursday

"Desure Buie is a great player on both the offensive and defensive ends. He is very important for their team. I will try to give it my all on defense this week. He shoots the three-ball well and comes off screens a lot. You can't give him space. You have to make him work for everything all 40 minutes." - Zep Jasper on defending Hofstra's Desure Buie