COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (7-8, 5-3 CAA) vs. ELON (3-7, 0-6 CAA)
Game #16 and #17
February 13, 2021 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
February 14, 2021 • 1:00 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 22-8
Last Meeting: Elon def. CofC, 72-65, on Feb. 8, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
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: 125-87 (.590)
Seventh Year Overall: 125-87 (.590)
Elon: Mike Schrage
Second Year at Elon: 16-28 (.364)
Second Year Overall: 16-28 (.364)
 
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 (7-8, 5-3 CAA) continues its Colonial Athletic Association homestand welcoming Elon (3-7, 0-6 CAA) this weekend to TD Arena for a weekend series on Saturday, Feb. 13 and Sunday, Feb. 14. The Cougars and Phoenix will square off at 1 p.m. (ET) on both days. With six games remaining in the regular season, every game counts towards seeding for the 2021 CAA Men's Basketball Championship to be held on March 6-9 in Harrisonburg, Va. Reigning CAA Player of the Week Zep Jasper is currently on a four-game double-digit scoring streak and is averaging 13.1 points per game, which is second most on the team. It was his first career weekly honor leading the Cougars to a series sweep over Towson last weekend including a 90-88 double-overtime thriller where he dropped a career-high tying 21 points on Feb. 6. Charleston is playing its best basketball of the season with Elon, Hofstra and UNCW left on its conference slate.
 
ELON AT-A-GLANCE
Elon sophomore guard Hunter McIntosh is the league's top sharp shooter averaging 3.1 three-pointers per game which ranks No. 17 in the country. He also doesn't miss from the free throw line making 89.7 of his attempts this season. The Phoenix have had six of their last 10 games postponed, but played a make-up game at James Madison (L, 70-61) on Feb. 9. They will close out their season against CofC, William & Mary and Hofstra.
 
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. (13.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 31.9 min)
#0 Payton Willis, G, 6-4, 190, Gr.-Sr. (13.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 34.4 min)
#5 Brenden Tucker, G, 6-3, 180, So. (9.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 25.3 min)
#21 Lorenzo Edwards, F, 6-8, 215, Gr.-Sr. (4.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 18.7 min)
#33 Osinachi Smart, C/F, 6-8, 240, Sr. (5.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 27.4 min)
 
­PROJECTED ELON STARTERS
#0 Hunter McIntosh, G, 6-2, 185, So. (17.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 32.4 min)
#11 Ikenna Ndugba, G, 6-0, 186, Gr.-Sr. (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 27.9 min)
#12 Darius Burford, G, 6-0, 160, Fr. (4.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, 17.5 min)
#25 Hunter Woods, F, 6-5, 195, So. (8.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.8 apg, 29.1 min)
#5 Federico Poser, F, 6-9, 245, Jr. (7.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 19.4 min)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston leads 22-8 in the all-time series with Elon. Last year, the Cougars and Phoenix split the regular-season series winning on each others' home court. CofC has won 14 of the last 18 meetings in the series dating back to its Southern Conference rivalry years with Elon. Charleston joined the CAA in July of 2013 and Elon in July of 2014.
 
LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 72-65 (-7) on Feb. 8, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 73-65 (+8) on Jan. 9, 2020 in Elon, N.C.
W, 84-74 (+10) on Feb. 23, 2019 in Elon, N.C.
W, 72-53 (+19) on Jan. 24, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 79-58 (+21) on Feb. 22, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 58-63 (-5) on Jan. 13, 2018 at Elon, N.C.
W, 71-58 (+13) on Feb. 4, 2017 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 66-54 (+12) on Dec. 31, 2016 at Elon, N.C.
W, 66-62 (+4) on Feb. 13, 2016 at Elon, N.C.
L, 64-65 (-1) on Jan. 16, 2016 at Charleston, S.C.
 
FOR THREE
Charleston currently ranks No. 36 nationally and tops in the league in three-point field goal percentage with a 37.8 accuracy from behind the arc this season. The Cougars are also averaging 8.1 threes a contest. In their last outing against Towson on Feb. 7, they shot a season-best 61.5 percent from long range making 8-of-13 attempts. CofC has shot better than 50 percent from downtown on three occasions and made eight-or-more triples in 10 of its 15 games.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We are still developing. I thought this team was going to have to develop more than any other team that I've had the last seven years, just because we have a lot of new guys. We have not had a lot of new guys for a while. Not having the summer, to not only work with the new guys, but to work with the returners. To have a spring and summer. Our secret weapon in our program has been our skill development and time we spend with the guys in the gym to get better. We didn't have that (this spring or summer)." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on the team's progress this season
 
"Coming into the season and starting the games, I knew it would be a season where my hope was that we would continue to get better as the year went along. We would continue to develop, but we would have to be patient. I've seen some developments. Now, we have to continue to build on what we have seen over the last couple of weeks. Try to be prepared and really ready for the opportunity and challenge that presents itself this weekend." – Coach Grant on the Cougars building on the two games last weekend against Towson
 
"(Zep) going out defending good players is something he enjoys doing. Offensively, he continues to evolve into a great offensive player. I think he still has more room to grow, but he has taken some steps in the right direction." – Grant on the development of Zep Jasper
 
"With us being out for two weeks, I think we needed that break. We are hitting that peak at the right time. It's almost about to be March in two-or-three weeks. Hopefully, we can keep it up – going into March – and make a run for the CAA Championship." – Junior Guard Zep Jasper on the team playing its best basketball of the season after the two-week team pause
 
"I love the 'Honey Badger' nickname. When I am playing defense, whoever my man is in front of me, I am going to treat it like they have honey in front of me. I am going to latch on to them and make sure they don't go nowhere. I am going to irritate them. I am going to be like a gnat or fly running around. I'm not letting you go anywhere, so you better get a ball up." – Jasper on being called the 'Honey Badger' and what that means to him