Cougars To Face Drexel In CAA Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 7

Atlantic Union Bank Center - Harrisonburg, Va.

9:30 PM

College of Charleston

Drexel

3/6/2021 8:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

#3 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (9-9) vs. #6 DREXEL (9-7)
Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals
March 7, 2021 • 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Atlantic Union Bank Center (8,500)
at Harrisonburg, Va.

Television: FloSports
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (The Zone 94.7 FM | 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 15-6
Last Meeting: CofC def. Drexel, 73-68, on Jan. 10, 2021 in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Live Statistics at www.CAAStats.com
Live On-Demand Video: FloSports Subscription at https://www.flosports.tv/caa/
Championship Central: www.caasports.com/MBB
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Seventh Year at CofC: 127-88 (.591)
Seventh Year Overall: 127-88 (.591)
Drexel: Zach Spiker
Fifth Year at Drexel: 58-88 (.397)
12th Year Overall: 160-200 (.444)

TELEVISION (FloSports)
Play-By-Play: Dave Ryan
Color Analyst: Mack McCarthy

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

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The third-seeded College of Charleston men's basketball team (9-9) will face sixth-seeded Drexel (9-7) in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Hercules Tires Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 7 at 9:30 p.m. (ET) in Harrisonburg, Va. The game will be televised on FloSports. It will be the first time in 15 days for the Cougars to play a game after their regular-season finale series with UNCW was cancelled due to a team pause. Junior guard Zep Jasper is currently on a career-best seven-game double-digit scoring streak. He poured in a career-high 38 points against NCAA Division II Columbus State on Feb. 20. For the first time of his career, Jasper was honored on the All-CAA Second Team and CAA All-Defensive Team after playing behind three-straight guys who went on to the NBA in Joe Chealey (Charlotte Hornets), Jarrell Brantley (Utah Jazz) and Grant Riller (Charlotte Hornets). The Cougars won both regular-season games this year against the Dragons by a combined six points at TD Arena. This will be the fourth time to play Drexel in a CAA Tournament game. CofC leads 3-0 in those meetings including a 56-48 win in the 2015 CAA First Round, a 66-59 victory in the 2018 CAA Quarterfinals and a 73-61 win over the Dragons in the 2019 CAA Quarterfinals.

A LOOK AT DREXEL
Camren Wynter and James Butler were both named to the All-CAA First and Third Teams respectively. Wynter ranks second in the CAA in assists per game (5.6) with a 1.93 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Butler ranks No. 22 in the country in field-goal percentage and tops in the league with a 57.7 percent accuracy from the floor. The Dragons ended the season with a rescheduled game and road win at James Madison (W, 84-78). They currently rank No. 23 in the nation in free-throw percentage draining 77.6 percent of their makes from the charity stripe this season.

THE COUGARS IN MARCH
College of Charleston is 35-20 (.636) 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, 15-7 in quarterfinal games, 10-5 in semifinal games and 4-6 in championship games.

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 the Atlantic Union Bank Center on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#12 Zep Jasper, G, 6-1, 170, Jr. (14.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 32.6 min)
#0 Payton Willis, G, 6-4, 190, Gr.-Sr. (12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 34.4 min)
#5 Brenden Tucker, G, 6-3, 180, So. (9.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 25.4 min)
#21 Lorenzo Edwards, F, 6-8, 215, Gr.-Sr. (4.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 19.2 min)
#33 Osinachi Smart, C/F, 6-8, 240, Sr. (4.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 26.1 min)

PROJECTED DREXEL STARTERS
#11 Camren Wynter, G, 6-2, 175, Jr. (17.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.6 apg, 36.0 min)
#5 Zach Walton, G/F, 6-6, 205, Gr.-Sr. (10.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 27.8 min)
#4 Xavier Bell, G, 6-3, 178, Fr. (2.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 8.8 min)
#23 T.J. Bickerstaff, F, 6-8, 207, So. (11.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 24.2 min)
#51 James Butler, F, 6-8, 228, Gr.-Sr. (13.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 28.5 min)

SERIES HISTORY
College of Charleston leads 15-6 in the all-time series with Drexel. The Cougars have won eight of the last nine contests between the two schools in the series. They swept the regular-season series with the Dragons in back-to-back years.

LAST 10 GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 73-68 (+5) on Jan. 10, 2021 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 61-60 (+1) on Jan. 9, 2021 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 75-66 (+9) on Feb. 29, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 76-65 (+11) on Dec. 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
W, 73-61 (+12) on March 10, 2019 in North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 86-84 (+2) on Feb. 9, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
L, 78-79 (-1) on Jan. 10, 2019 at Charleston, S.C.
W, 66-59 (+7) on March 4, 2018 at North Charleston, S.C.^
W, 89-67 (+22) on Feb. 10, 2018 at Charleston, S.C.
L, 82-87 OT (-5) on Jan. 5, 2018 at Philadelphia, Pa.
^ CAA Tournament

ON TARGET
The Cougars currently rank No. 37 nationally and tops in the CAA in three-point field percentage shooting 37.2 percent from long range this season. They are also averaging 8.2 threes per game. Graduate senior Payton Willis has made a team-high 37 treys this year followed by Jasper (33) and Lorenzo Edwards (16).

CAA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
The 2021 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship was moved from Washington, D.C., to the brand new Atlantic Union Bank Center on the campus of James Madison University on March 6-9 in Harrisonburg, Va.

2021 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship
Atlantic Union Bank Center – Harrisonburg, Va.

First Round – Saturday, March 6
Game 1: #8 Elon vs. #9 Towson – 3 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 2: #7 William & Mary vs. #10 UNCW – 7 p.m. (FloHoops)

Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 7
Game 3: #4 Hofstra vs. #5 Delaware – 11 a.m. (FloHoops)
Game 4: #1 James Madison vs. Game 1 winner – 2:30 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 5: #2 Northeastern vs. Game 2 winner – 6 p.m. (FloHoops)
Game 6: #3 Charleston vs. #6 Drexel – 9:30 p.m. (FloHoops)

Semifinals – Monday, March 8
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – 9:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Championship – Tuesday, March 9
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"Drexel is a good team. Coach (Spiker) is doing a really good job with his program. They have gotten better every year. We've battled with them and it's always a challenging game when we play them. They have good players. (Camren) Wynter is leading their program and Butler is kind of their go-to guy inside. They have a good supporting cast. Certainly, it's going to be a challenge. We have to be ready to play on Sunday." – Head Coach Earl Grant on Drexel

"It's good to have older guys. All of them have been through multiple conference tournaments and preseason tournaments. It's nice to have that experience. You can't really trade for experience. That is the most valuable thing you can have on your team. To have some older guys, who have been through some battles. That is very critical for us heading into this tournament." – Coach Grant on having veteran players going into the CAA Tournament with Osinachi Smart, Payton Willis, Lorenzo Edwards and Zep Jasper

"Like Coach Grant told us, this is the third season now. The biggest thing for us is to focus on the first game. We have to be able to get that first win and move on from there. It's win or go home. It's been hard with COVID going on (and the team pauses to prepare for this tournament). We have to be able to find a way to play as a team this first game coming up. When you go back and see what we have done (throughout the season), you can see the results. The biggest thing for us is just to be able to close out games and do what we do. Not letting off. A couple of times, we did not finish the game the right way. That was something we talked about going into this tournament." – Senior Forward/Center Osinachi Smart on prepping for the CAA Tournament

"The dream I have coming into this tournament is just try to win a championship. In order to do that, we have to win that first game. As a senior, a lot players look up to me to be that guy, who talks to the players and getting them in the right mindset. I've been here before, it's not my first time. A couple of the guys we have, they haven't been to the tournament. A lot of them look up to me. It's my job to have them understand this first game really matters. That's the game that will set the tone for us to make a run in the tournament." – Smart on his final CAA Tournament and leading the younger players on the squad

"The challenge is going to be stopping Camren Wynter. He is the head of the snake. He dictates what happens with their team. He's just a great leader. He's also one of the best guards in the conference. It's always fun to match-up with guys like that. But, I'm always up for the challenge. I think our team is going to be ready. We are going to have grit and will have an edge." – Junior Guard Zep Jasper on the challenges Drexel presents

"It's been very fun playing with those guys. I have a great relationship with all of them. I Just want to make sure I reward them by getting a CAA Championship. If there is one thing I can do for this program. I am hungry, I am hungry right now for a CAA Championship." – Jasper on playing with the team's seniors and sending them off the right way