Charleston Stays in Driver's Seat for Bye with JMU/Elon Split

Final Score (Thursday):

JMU 56, College of Charleston 52 (Ron Curry 16 pts, 3-5 3 pt, 4 rebs)

Final Score (Saturday): 

College of Charleston 66, Elon 62 (Jarrell Brantley 20 pts, 8-13 FG, 9 rebs)

It may be hard to believe, but March is just around the corner. As such, the Cougars are positioning themselves for the Madness of the CAA Tournament by jockeying for a top 6 position that will grant them a first-round bye in Baltimore. In the quagmire that is #CAAHoops, CofC could easily rise up to third place. Conversely, Elon and a now-healthy Northeastern are the biggest threats to stealing that extra day of rest and prep.

First up on the Valentine's Day weekend swing was James Madison. You may remember that CofC handed them an L in their home arena on the first day of league play. Jarrell Brantley was the star of that game, having his way on offense for a season-high 29 points.

On Thursday, the Dukes were looking for revenge and both teams carried the grizzled facade of two defensive-oriented units with nearly a full season's worth of experience since the last meeting. It was another slugfest at TD Arena, and the home team struggled early. Brantley was not getting the same looks as he was in December, and Charleston's usual defensive and rebounding principles were not at their sharpest. 

It wasn't until an enraged timeout by Coach Grant (after the Cougs allowed five consecutive offensive rebounds) that the Cougars locked in and were able to string together some possessions. The big news out of this game was that in the second half, CAA POY contender Ron Curry tweaked his knee while cutting and had to retreat to the locker room. 

JMU, to their credit, did not miss a beat. In a game that seesawed back and forth with each basket, the Dukes made plays when the Cougars could not. The recurring free throw problems came back to bite Charleston, as Cam and Jarrell both missed on the front end of one-and-ones in a single basket game down the stretch. With one last stop needed, the Cougars allowed a three pointer by Joey McLean that was the dagger.

Still, with the right teams losing on Thursday, CofC could recover by winning at Elon on Saturday night. The Phoenix could take a big step by beating the Cougars in their home arena, sweeping the series and vaulting up the standings. The Cougars have struggled this season with Saturday games, especially on the road.

After another slow start for the Cougars (Elon blitzed out of the gates shooting 5-6 from the floor), Grant's team settled in and put the clamps down on the Phoenix offense. Converting the pace and flow of this contest into one that better fit their style, CofC was not allowing Elon's guard-oriented play to hit outside shots. Charleston held Elon's top three scorers to single digits for the night as they casually ran up a double-digit lead in the second half.

They would need every point however, as freshman Steven Santa Ana (who broke his hand the last time these teams played) took it as his civic duty to make this a game. Capitalizing on some Cougar turnovers, Santa Ana went on a personal 8-0 run to make this one close. Fortunately this time, the Cougars were able to make their free throws (Elon also had some unfortunate luck with missed layups and questionable fouls) and secure a big CofC road win.

After the game, Earl Grant admitted to reporters that he went against his standard practice to make it clear to the guys that a bye in Baltimore is essential. Grant, who rarely mentions the W-L record in practice and film session (#theprocess), reiterated to his team that no team that has played on Friday has won the CAA Tournament title, and the Cougars would be feeling the hot breath of the Huskies on the back of their necks for the final two weeks.

Heading into the next session - Delaware on Thursday (I will be there in person) and the final home game of the year on Saturday against the league-leading UNCW Seahawks - the CAA standings are as such:

Delaware and Drexel are essentially locked in to the bottom two seeds. Elon hurt themselves with the CofC home loss. Charleston ends the year with the toughest schedule of any CAA team (@UD, UNCW, @NU, @Hofstra). Northeastern's is slightly easier (@JMU, @Hofstra, CofC, @Drexel).

Aside from Cougar fans rooting for the Dukes and Pride next week, first thing's first - beat Delaware in Newark. Everyone knows the Blue Hens are not as bad as their record indicates. CofC has to take care of business and get this final stretch started on the right note.