COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (15-12, 9-6 CAA) vs. UNCW (8-20, 3-12 CAA)
Game #28
February 22, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Trask Coliseum (5,200)
at Wilmington, N.C.
 
Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 15-14
Last Meeting: UNCW def. CofC, 72-70, on Jan. 25, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.UNCWStats.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: 116-77
Sixth Year Overall: 116-77
UNCW: Rob Burke (Interim)
Third Year at UNCW: 3-6
First Year Overall: 3-6
 
TELEVISION (FloSports)
Play-By-Play: Mike Vaccaro
Color Analyst: Marty Feurer
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
 
GAME PREVIEW
With three games remaining in the regular season, road travel in Colonial Athletic Association play comes to a close for the College of Charleston men's basketball team (15-12, 9-6 CAA) at rival UNCW (8-20, 3-12 CAA) on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Wilmington, N.C. The Cougars and Seahawks meet for the second time this season and are fresh off a late-season bye week. Both programs are looking to rebound from a tough two-game Northern road swing at Hofstra and Northeastern last week. Since the Cougars joined the Colonial from the Southern Conference in 2013, the Seahawks' matchup has become a natural annual rivalry similar to Davidson and Wofford. UNCW won the first meeting, 72-70, on Jan. 25 at TD Arena to which Charleston bounced back with three wins in a row against James Madison, Towson and William & Mary. Expect another showdown on Saturday as both teams make a big push to finish the season out strong with red-hot Delaware and Drexel awaiting in the wings next week with trips to the two coastal cities.
 
SCOUTING UNCW
Six of UNCW's last nine games have been decided in single digits under interim Head Coach Rob Burke, who previously was an assistant coach at The Citadel from 2004-10 and was elevated from assistant coach on Jan. 13. All three of the Seahawks' league wins have come against some of the top teams in the conference in Northeastern (76-74 OT), Charleston and William & Mary (70-64). Redshirt sophomore forward Marten Linssen is currently the second-best shooter in the CAA with a 58.8 accuracy from the field 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 Trask Coliseum on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 175, So. (7.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 29.7 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (21.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 33.3 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, Jr. (11.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 30.0 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.5 apg, 26.7 min)
#20 Sam Miller, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (8.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 23.3 min)
 
PROJECTED UNCW STARTERS
#2 Shykeim Phillips, G, 6-0, 170, Fr. (9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 24.7 min)
#4 Mike Okauru, G, 6-3, 185, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 27.2 min)
#0 Ty Gadsden, G, 6-1, 165, Jr. (10.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 26.2 min)
#1 Brian Tolefree, G, 6-5, 195, So. (6.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 25.1 min)
#23 Marten Linssen, F, 6-8, 255, RS-So. (9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.3 apg, 19.1 min)
 
SERIES HISTORY
College of Charleston holds a one-game lead in the all-time series with UNCW, 15-14. The Cougars have won their last three-straight trips to Wilmington including a 73-66 road victory on Jan. 29, 2018 in both team's league season opener at Trask Coliseum.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 72-70 on 1/25/20 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 70-61 on 3/2/19 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 73-66 on 12/29/18 at Wilmington, N.C.
W, 88-74 on 2/17/18 at Wilmington, N.C.
W, 80-76 on 1/18/18 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 78-69 on 3/6/17 at North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 67-66 on 2/2/17 at Wilmington, N.C.
L, 59-65 on 1/19/17 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 64-66 on 3/5/16 at Baltimore, Md.^
L, 55-59 (OT) on 2/20/16 at Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament
 
WHAT 2 WATCH 4
Grant Riller needs eight more points to move past former CAA great Justin Wright-Foreman of Hofstra (2015-19) for fifth all-time in career scoring in conference history. Wright-Foreman was drafted 51st overall in last year's NBA Draft and is currently a teammate of former College of Charleston star Jarrell Brantley, drafted 50th overall by the Indiana Pacers (traded to Utah Jazz). Both are two-way players for the Jazz playing for the franchise's NBA G League affiliate – the Salt Lake City Stars – and were named to the Midseason All-NBA G League Team for the Western Conference. Riller currently ranks 10th in career steals (156) and 13th all-time in career assists (351) at The College. He recently recorded his second-straight 100+ assist season (107).
 
CAA ALL-TIME CAREER SCORING LIST
1. David Robinson (Navy, 1983-87) – 2,669
2. Charles Jenkins (Hofstra, 2008-11) – 2,513
3. Carlos Yates (George Mason, 1981-85) – 2,420
4. John Newman (Richmond, 1982-86) – 2,383
5. Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra, 2015-19) – 2,387
6. Grant Riller (College of Charleston, 2016-Present) – 2,380
 
NORTHEASTSERN RECAP
Northeastern 65, College of Charleston 51
• College of Charleston returned to the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller (10-6).
• Northeastern swept the regular-season series with College of Charleston. The Huskies take a two-game advantage in the series between the two schools, 9-7. They have now won three in a row since beating CofC in last year's CAA Semifinals.
• Zep Jasper was the only player in double figures at Northeastern with a team-high 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers. It marked his 11th double-figure game this season and 17th of his career. It was also only the third time of his career to lead Charleston in scoring in a game.
• Grant Riller had nine points at Northeastern as his double-digit scoring streak came to an end at 26 games this season and 54 dating back to the 2018-19 season. He has now tallied 2,380 career points to date.
• Osinachi Smart led the Cougars in the rebounding column with six boards including five on the defensive end at Northeastern. It marked the 10th time this season to lead CofC in the rebounding column in a game.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We have to play the game the right way and put ourselves in a position to find success. The last time we played Wilmington, we had a good effort from them. They junked the game up with the triangle and two and the box and one (defenses). In six years, we haven't seen that. That was a shock to our system. It shocked us so much that we went 6-for-33 from three. Like any game, we have to make shots and put the ball in the basket. We learned a lot from that game from the changing up of defenses. They probably will do it again. We have to get to the free throw line and attack the basketball more the second time around. That was a hungry team at the time and they played really well. But, we won three in a row after that. Now, we have to get back on track." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on playing UNCW the second time around
 
"We have to navigate through it. That's part of college basketball and that's part of life. You have to navigate through the hard times and that's what we are trying to do right now. There have been some disappointing times this season certainly for me, for the fans, for our players. At the same time, it's hard to score and it's hard to score on the road. Northeastern did a really good job of packing everything in and guarding without fouling. On the road, sometimes you may get fouled, you may not get that call. You have to deal with it. We didn't handle it well." – Coach Grant on bouncing back from the road loss at Northeastern last weekend
 
"This is a different team than any team that we have had the last two-to-three years. We've had great opportunities this year and missed out on a few opportunities. But, it's not over. We've got regular-season games and the conference tournament left. It has been challenging. That's where me and my staff and our players, we have to stay the course and not allow hard times and adversity to affect our locker room. We have to stick together. We have to keep fighting and get all the way to the finish line. We need to get to a point where we are playing good basketball down the stretch, so we have an opportunity to do something special once we get to that tournament." – Grant on the bigger picture