#4 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (17-13) vs. #5 DELAWARE (21-10)
Game #31
Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals
March 8, 2020 • 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Entertainment and Sports Arena (4,200)
at Washington, D.C.
 
Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM | 94.7 FM)
Series History: CofC Leads 12-5
Last Meeting: CofC def. Delaware, 80-71, on Feb. 27, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.CAAStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: FloSports Subscription at http://bit.ly/2JP6sGV
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/caa-mens-basketball-championship-tickets/artist/1403700
Twitter: @CofCBasketball
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Sixth Year at CofC: 118-78
Sixth Year Overall: 118-78
Delaware: Martin Ingelsby
Fourth Year at Delaware: 65-65
Fourth Year Overall: 65-65
 
TELEVISION (FloSports)
Play-By-Play: Scott Jackson
Color Analyst: Tarik Turner
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
 
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
One last CAA ride for seniors Grant Riller, Jaylen McManus, Sam Miller and Zach Rabinowitz as the fourth-seeded College of Charleston men's basketball team (17-13) travels to Our Nation's Capital to take on fifth-seeded Delaware (21-10) in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Hercules Tires Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. (ET) in Washington, D.C. The game will be televised on FloSports. The Cougars and Blue Hens will meet for the second time in a little over a week after CofC swept the regular-season series with an 80-71 win on Feb. 27 at TD Arena. But, as all conference postseason tournaments go, the slate is wiped clean as each team is prepared to battle over the next three-or-four days to ultimately dance in March. Both teams tied for fourth place in the standings with 11-7 marks in conference play and earned a first-round bye. Charleston won the tiebreaker and higher seed by virtue of its 2-0 record versus Delaware during the regular season. Once again, it will be a matchup between one of the league's top scoring offenses in UD (74.6 ppg) against one of the league's top scoring defenses in CofC (67.7 ppg). The game will also showcase two of the top scorers in the league and country in All-CAA First Team selections Riller (11th in NCAA, 21.7 ppg) and Nate Darling (17th in NCAA, 21.1 ppg). Refreshed, the Cougars are raring to go in the postseason carrying a two-game win streak into the contest and looking to make some noise in March.
 
A LOOK AT DELAWARE
Delaware closed out the regular season with an 82-65 road win at UNCW on Feb. 29. The Blue Hens, like CofC, struggled in the later half of February winning seven-straight games, before dropping three of their last five. Other than Darling, they are led by junior guard Kevin Anderson (11.6 ppg), who earned a spot on the All-CAA Third Team. The Cougars and Blue Hens last met in postseason tournament play in the 2016 CAA First Round (W, 67-63) on March 4, 2016 at Baltimore, Md.
 
THE COUGARS IN MARCH
College of Charleston is 35-19 (.648) all-time in conference tournament play as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) from 1993-98, Southern Conference from 1998-2013 and Colonial from 2013-Present. The Cougars gained NCAA Division I status during the 1991-92 season. They are 6-2 all-time in first-round games, 15-6 in quarterfinal games, 10-5 in semifinal games and 4-6 in championship games. CofC has played in the conference tournament championship game four times in the last 10 years as members of the SoCon in 2011 (lost to Wofford) and 2013 (lost to Davidson) as well as members of the Colonial in 2017 (lost to UNCW) and 2018 (defeated Northeastern).
 
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 Entertainment and Sports Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#10 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 175, So. (7.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 30.1 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 190, Sr. (21.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.9 apg, 33.5 min)
#2 Brevin Galloway, G, 6-2, 215, Jr. (11.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 29.8 min)
#24 Jaylen McManus, F, 6-7, 230, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.6 apg, 26.7 min)
#20 Sam Miller, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (8.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 23.6 min)

PROJECTED DELAWARE STARTERS
#0 Ryan Allen, G, 6-2, 200, Jr. (12.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 33.5 min)
#1 Kevin Anderson, G, 6-5, 190, Jr. (11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, 34.6 min)
#3 Nate Darling, G, 6-5, 200, RS-Jr. (21.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 38.2 min)
#2 Dylan Painter, F, 6-10, 225, RS-Jr. (9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 20.2 min)
#25 Justyn Mutts, F, 6-7, 220, RS-So. (12.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 31.5 min)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston holds a seven-game advantage in the all-time series with Delaware, 12-5. The Cougars currently own a nine-game win streak in the series having swept the regular-season series with the Blue Hens the last four years.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 80-71 (+9) on Feb. 27, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 75-63 (+12) on Dec. 30, 2019 in Newark, Del.
W, 83-75 (+8) on Feb. 7, 2019 in Newark, Del.
W, 71-58 (+13) on Jan. 12, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 62-54 (+8) on Jan. 25, 2018 at Newark, Del.
W, 93-78 (+15) on Jan. 2, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 78-65 (+13) on Feb. 23, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 65-56 (+9) on Jan. 2, 2017 at Newark, Del.
W, 67-63 (+4) on March 4, 2016 at Baltimore, Md.^
L, 59-62 (-3) on Feb. 18, 2016 at Newark, Del.
^ CAA Tournament
 
MILLER HOMECOMING
Senior forward Sam Miller, who hails from Arlington, Virginia, will have about 15 family members and friends on hand cheering him on and the Cougars this weekend at the CAA Tournament. He starred at Gonzaga College High School – one of the top high school teams in the D.C. metropolitan area. In 2015, Miller was a first team all-conference selection and led the No. 7 nationally-ranked Eagles to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship title. He currently ranks 10th in the CAA in rebounding (6.0 ppg), 11th in field-goal percentage (48.6%) and sixth in blocked shots (0.9 bpg).
 
"I'm really excited. It's home for me. Every game where I've had friends or family at this year, I've played really well. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue that in the tournament." – Sam Miller
 
SOLID IN GOLD
College of Charleston is 5-0 this season when donning their gold uniforms (defeated Nebraska Wesleyan (exh.), Georgia State, Providence, South Carolina State and Delaware). Throughout the last decade, many memorable moments have occurred for the Cougars when wearing the school's accent color including a win over Dayton in the 2011 NIT First Round, a come-from-behind victory against Northeastern (OT) in the 2018 CAA Championship Game, beating preseason Top 25-ranked LSU in 2015 at TD Arena and CofC's all-time leading scorer and former Los Angeles Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock winning the 3-Point Championship at the 2011 NCAA Final Four in Houston.
 
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Junior guard Brevin Galloway was honored on the CAA All-Defensive Team for the first time of his career. He led the league in steals this season averaging 2.3 per game. Galloway is currently tied for second all-time in single-season steals (68) in the program's NCAA Division I Era (1991-Present) with former Cougar great and CofC Athletics Hall of Famer Sedric Webber (1998-99). He made a career-and season-high tying six steals in the team's last outing versus Drexel on Feb. 29. The school record for single-season steals belongs to Marcus Woods (84) in 1992-93.
 
CAA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
The 2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship will make its debut in Washington, D.C., on March 7-10, at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The new state-of-the-art facility is home to the WNBA champion Washington Mystics and also serves as the official practice facility for the Washington Wizards. The ESA will be home to the conference tournament the next three years.
 
2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship
Entertainment and Sports Arena – Washington, D.C.
 
Opening Round – Saturday, March 7
Game 1: #8 Drexel vs. #9 UNCW – 4 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 2: #7 Elon vs. #10 James Madison – 6:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
 
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 8
Game 3: # 1 Hofstra vs. Game 1 winner – Noon (FloHoops)
Game 4: #4 Charleston vs. #5 Delaware – 2:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 5: #2 William & Mary vs. Game 2 winner – 6 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 6: #3 Towson vs. #6 Northeastern – 8:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
 
Semifinals – Monday, March 9
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – 8:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
 
Championship – Tuesday, March 10
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
 
DREXEL RECAP
College of Charleston 75, Drexel 66
• 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.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"I really like where we are right now. A couple of weeks ago, we had a tough patch. I like where our spirit and energy is and our execution. We wanted to be playing good basketball at the end and we are doing exactly that. There are going to be some competitive games this week and we know it's going to be a challenge. They (Delaware) have a good team and he's (Nate Darling) had a really good year. They have good balance. It's always a challenge when we play them. We have to stick to our game plan and try to stop them. We have to worry about our (defensive) principles more than anything else. We have to be ready on Sunday." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the Cougars and their matchup against Delaware in the CAA Quarterfinals
 
"We've had some good memories. We've played well at the tournaments. Playing at home (the last three years) has been good for us. But, we are ready to travel and go on the road to play in the tournament and head to D.C. Winning is fun and we have been able to get to the championship game multiple times.  Experience never hurts. It's just the knowledge of knowing how hard it is and the challenge of three days. If you have an experienced team, they have an idea what to expect." – Coach Grant on his team being experienced for postseason play with the success the program has seen over the last three years
 
"He has been here over 90 percent of my time at the College of Charleston. He has seen a little bit of everything – painful times and good times. He's done a great job of helping move this program forward. He has been a good ambassador for our program in the community, in the classroom and on the court. He set the standards for the younger guys. We want to help him finish the right way." – Coach Grant on Grant Riller's career coming to a close at The College
 
"Obviously, everybody knows this could be our last game. It's our role as leaders on this team to set the tone early and remind our young guys what we are playing for. It's such a clean slate, because there's so many different teams this year (who can win the tournament) outside of us. Everybody is 0-0. It's a new tournament and I'm ready to go." – Senior guard Grant Riller on his mindset going into the CAA Tournament
 
"We are just loving each other more. We have had meetings as a team, where we have come together. Our huddles have been tighter. Communication has been better. I feel like we have always played hard, but we haven't been together as a unit. The last two games, we have been doing that more. That definitely will carry over to the tournament this weekend." – Sophomore guard Brevin Galloway on what the difference has been with the team the last two games
 
"We are ready for it. We know them very well. They know us very well. It's pretty much will come down to, 'who wants it more?' at the end of the day. Hopefully, it will be a good game." – Galloway on playing Delaware a third time this season