CHARLESTON, S.C. – In its Colonial Athletic Association regular-season finale, College of Charleston used its signature defense down the stretch to defeat Drexel, 75-66, before a sellout crowd of 5,112 fans on Saturday at TD Arena.
 
Led by a game-high 25-point performance from Grant Riller, the Cougars (17-13, 11-7 CAA) were able to send their five seniors, including Riller, off on a high note on Senior Day.
 
They await their final seeding for next week's Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship to be held on March 7-10 in Washington, D.C. Charleston has already claimed a first-round bye in the tournament and will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed playing on Sunday, March 8 in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 Delaware game at 2:30 p.m. (ET) or the No. 3 vs. No. 6 Northeastern game at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
 
Seniors Sam Miller (14 points and 8 rebounds) and Jaylen McManus (13 points and six rebounds) each turned in big performances to lead the Cougars on a two-game win streak heading into postseason play next week. Zep Jasper added 12.
 
Charleston led the majority of the contest until the Dragons (13-18, 6-12 CAA) tied it up late in the second half on two made free throws by Camren Wynter, 54-54, with 8:58 remaining in regulation.
 
It was Drexel's seventh-straight loss. Zach Walton recorded a team-high 18 points, while James Butler grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• College of Charleston started all five of its seniors – Zach Rabinowitz, Grant Riller, Osinachi Smart, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller. It was the first career start for Rabinowitz, a former student manager, who worked his way up to a roster spot as a walk-on the last two years.
• With the win, College of Charleston won its fourth-straight game in the series with Drexel. The Cougars now own a 13-6 lead in the series with the Dragons.
• Grant Riller registered a game-high 25 points including 4-for-9 from long range versus Drexel. It marked his 17th 20-point game of the season. He has now tabulated 2,448 career points to date which still ranks second all-time in school history and third all-time in CAA history.
• Sam Miller had a near double-double performance with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Drexel. It marked the fifth time in a single game that he led the Cougars in assists.
• Jaylen McManus was also in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds against the Dragons. It was his 17th career game in double digits and 12th of the season.
• Zep Jasper recorded 12 points and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line versus Drexel. It was his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season.
• The Cougars made a season-high tying 11 steals in the ballgame and converted 14 Drexel turnovers into 10 points.
• CofC, which leads the CAA in home attendance, had its second sellout game of the season with 5,112 fans in attendance on Senior Day.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"Very emotional day. Looking at those guys standing at half court before the game. Lot of different memories. Guys transferred in. Guys sat out. Guys going through losing seasons. Guys going to the NCAA Tournament. So many memories, when you see so many seniors out there. I was really happy we were able to win the game. I thought our fans were unbelievable – we had over 5,000 fans. Obviously, we have the best fans in the CAA and we are very appreciative of their support. I thought we played well. We really guarded well and shot the ball well. We had a tough patch in the second half and the game kind of flipped for about two minutes. I am just really happy we were able to find a way to win."
 
On getting stops down the stretch …
"We needed to be in that position to get stops. Obviously, in March, it will come down to getting stops. I was happy to get multiple stops back-to-back-to-back. In crucial times, we got some steals, deflections, blocks at the rim and high-level contested shots. I was happy we were able to show the ability to get stops under pressure."
 
College of Charleston Senior Guard Grant Riller
On the win …
"It was big to win these last two games. Obviously, we've been in a slump, so our focus this whole week was to come out here and get two victories and we did. It definitely helps going into March."
 
College of Charleston Senior Forward Jaylen McManus
On his play …
"I got hurt in the first half and I told myself I was going to sacrifice whatever (the team) needs from me. I felt that I needed to hit some big shots for them, so I did what I had to do to help my teammates out."
 
College of Charleston Senior Guard Zach Rabinowitz
On his early three-pointer against Drexel …
"I was telling everyone, 'if it happens, it happens. If not, it's fine.' It was nice to actually get one though. It was a really cool moment to hit a 3 again."
 
College of Charleston Senior Forward Sam Miller
On the team getting stops in the second half …
"Coach Grant talks about it all the time, we are a 'defense first program' and in order to win that game, we had to really dig our heels in and make some stops."
 
On getting two wins under their belt this week going into the CAA Tournament …
"Coach has been talking about playing our best basketball in March. We might not be quite to our best, but we're heading in the right direction and trending up after these past two games. We feel pretty confident. Not sure who we're playing yet, but I like us against anyone."