Cougars Split Second CAA Series

Final Score: College of Charleston 72, Hofstra 61

Top Performers:

Marquise Pointer 19 pts (4-9 3pt), 6 asts, 2 stls

Rokas Gustys 16 pts, 10 rebs, 26 mins

Playing without leading scorer Canyon Barry (as well as lone senior and first big sub James Bourne...and projected starting point guard Joe Chealey...and expected contributor Grant Riller...), the Cougar pups faced their second Thursday-Saturday CAA swing. First up was the senior-laden, pre-season favorites from Hofstra.

Early on, the Pride looked the part. They were hitting the mid range jumpers that the Cougar defense gave them, and CofC spotted some extra scoring opportunities with turnovers. Those giveaways were to be expected from a squad looking to pick up Canyon's offense. 

Setting the tone early for CofC was freshman center Nick Harris - who scored the team's first seven points. As we saw in the LSU game, Harris is a different player when he gets off to a good start. With depth not being a luxury for either team, Harris and his teammates stayed out of foul trouble to keep the rebounding edge close and the offense humming. Harris would lead the team with 7 boards.

In his first collegiate start, Marquise Pointer looked like the best player on the court. He seemed to hit a long three every time the Pride threatened with a run, and took his turn holding preseason Player of the Year Juan'ya Green to just 10 points. Everyone helped pick up the scoring load, with Hulsey and Bailey looking for their shot more often. Cam Johnson and Jarrell Brantley also contributed double digit scoring performances.

Once Hofstra stopped hitting inefficient shots, CofC jumped on them and cracked open their largest lead about midway through the second half. In the end, Charleston held the Pride to their lowest point total of the season. An impressive victory to put the other CAA teams on notice.

Final Score: Drexel 61, College of Charleston 54

Top Performers:

Rodney Williams 19 pts (7-11 FG, 5-7 FT), 3 rebs

Payton Hulsey 11 pts (5-6 FG), 4 asts

You don't have to look back too far to see how the Cougars last responded to a big conference win. In the CAA's new Thursday-Saturday schedule, that second leg always promises to be a challenge. Charleston learned that the hard way when, after a big season opening win over JMU, they got blitzed by William & Mary in Virginia. Coach Grant expressed some concern after the big Hofstra win as to how his young team would respond after the quick turnaround from Charleston to Philly.

If the Hofstra game represented the best case scenario for the shorthanded Cougars to play, the game less than 48 hours later represented a disappointing counterpoint and reality check. Dealing with fatigue (all three starting guards played 35+ mins in the previous game) and role players forced into starring roles, CofC never got into rhythm. 

Two costly issues plagued the Cougars all game: fouls and turnovers. Whether those were due to tired legs, a lack of prep or a lack of focus: only the coaching staff knows. After staying out of foul trouble against Hofstra, the bigger and bruising Dragons presented problems for Charleston. Drexel scored nearly half of their game points (28 of 61) from the free throw line, a product of 35 trips to the charity stripe for the home team. The Cougars attempted 11, making 7. 

Unlike the Hofstra game, Nick Harris got himself into trouble early with fouls and was limited to just seven minutes. That forced seldom-used Terrance O'Donohue and Donovan Gilmore into duty, allowing talented forward Rodney Williams to have his way down low. This is a game where the team missed James Bourne's one-on-one defense.

They also missed Canyon Barry's offensive firepower. The game was ugly throughout, with both Charleston and the 2-12 Dragons more than willing to throw up bad shots and turn the ball over. A reflection of that, Payton Hulsey was the only Cougar to crack double digits in scoring. The Drexel defense played to the potential they started to show as of late, and the Cougs did not have enough playmaking left over from the previous game.

Even with so many factors working to their disadvantage, the Cougs found themselves down just three with 4:11 to play. Unfortunately, the mental mistakes of a young team came back to bite the road squad as the Dragons scored their final 10 points off free throws. 

Many Cougar fans would hate to admit that Drexel presented a strong "trap game" possibility, but the signs were there: big win in the last game, followed by a quick flight on little rest for the undermanned Cougars. With a win, Charleston would be tied for first in the conference, but the loss drops them back into the middle of the pack four games into CAA play. 

Grant's team will need to learn how to win the Saturday league games. Next up on the schedule is a home and home against W&M and Elon. First and foremost, they need to get healthy. 

Brantley Powers Cougars in CAA Opener

Final Score: College of Charleston 65, JMU 62
Top Performers:
Jarrell Brantley 29 pts, (13-14 FG, 1-1 3pt), 7 rebs, 3 ats, 2 stls
Ron Curry 23 pts, (7-12, 5-7 3pt), 4 rebs, 2 asts

If you had told JMU Head Coach Matt Brady that his team would hold CAA leading scorer Canyon Barry scoreless from the field for the duration of the game, he probably would've liked his team's chances to pick up their ninth straight win and first victory in conference play. Unfortunately, Brady and his Dukes did not gameplan for CofC freshmen Jarrell Brantley, who seemed to put it all together yesterday to guide Charleston to a 1-0 start in the Colonial.

Brantley, who has shown flashes of brilliance all season, was an unstoppable force at the Convocation Center, drawing praise from JMU announcers and NBA Hall of Famer / Harrisonburg-native Ralph Sampson. He made his first 13(!) shots from the field, not missing from his spots until the final minutes of the game. His versatility and size make him a tough defensive assignment, and his ability to shoulder the scoring load could not have come at a better time.

Even with Canyon struggling to hit anything, the Cougars were able to build a 10-point second half lead behind their usually stout defense, offensive rebounds and the outside shooting of Cam Johnson (who exploded for 19 points and a 5-8 performance from behind the arc). Yet no lead is safe when you're going against a veteran team picked to finish second in the conference. Behind the shooting of Ron Curry and Shakir Brown, JMU eventually drew even with Charleston and the lead would seesaw back and forth with each possession.

The final 30 seconds of the game had two plays that would decide the victor. First, with 28 seconds left in a tied game, fellow freshman Marquise Pointer made the ballsy decision to look off a still scoreless (but open) Canyon Barry and drive to the hoop for a tough finger roll layup. He drained it and probably could've drawn a foul called on the play. Then with 5 seconds to go, Curry drew a foul and went to the line with a chance to tie the game. He swished the first free throw, but his second attempt rimmed out and Canyon controlled the rebound. 

One intentional foul later on Canyon Barry, who swished his first and second points of the game with 4 seconds to play, followed by a missed heave from Curry and this game was over. 

The win is a huge confidence builder for Charleston, who proved to themselves and the CAA that they are not dependent on Barry to beat a quality team on the road. Brantley had a legitimate breakout game after we've seen similar performances by the other freshmen (Harris and Pointer). The defense, rebounding and ball movement of the Cougars was also as sharp as it has ever been - even in the first conference game for Earl Grant's young team.

If the Cougars can follow this up with a second road victory against William & Mary tomorrow, they will really put the league on notice. But even if they split this road trip, the Cougars have proven that they will be a tougher out this season than many predicted back in September.

More notes:

• James Bourne is out 3-4 weeks after having minor knee surgery. In his absence, the team turned to Terrance O'Donohue for extended minutes, but they will miss Bourne's defense and experience to start CAA play. This already young team will be senior-less until late January at least.
• For the second straight game the Couagrs' leading rebounder was their starting point guard. Payton Hulsey had his usually quiet game scoring, but had 5 assists, 9 boards and 3 steals. Coach Grant is going to have some tough rotation decisions to make when Chealey and Riller are healthy next year.
• The Dukes are 0-4 when they are outrebounded. CofC won that battle 37-31 and had a 13-7 edge in offensive rebounding to give them eight more second chance points.
• Elsewhere in the CAA, William & Mary dropped their league opener at home to Towson (76-69), Hofstra took care of a shorthanded Delaware team (90-80), UNCW defeated the struggling Drexel Dragons (75-63) and Northeastern won on the road at Elon (86-79) 

Charleston Begins CAA Play with Tough VA Road Trip

College of Charleston (8-3, 0-0)

James Madison University (10-3, 0-0)

JMU Convocation Center

Tipoff at 1:00 pm

With one day left in the calendar year, the CAA season begins with all ten teams in league matinee contests. Records are wiped clean, preseason polls are tossed out the window and the level of competition evens out from here through March. The league is currently ranked as the 8th best in the country - higher than any previous point during the George Mason / VCU heydays - with eight teams sporting eight or more wins. 

One of the most surprising teams not just in the CAA, but in the country, is the College of Charleston. With a top-20 scorer in Canyon Barry, improved continuity in Coach Grant's second year, and an overachieving crop of young players, the Cougars early play has them looking like more of a contender than a cellar dweller (as CAA coaches predicted).

Whether the Cougars are a legitimate threat in the conference will be gauged early in the schedule, as they face projected Top-4 CAA teams in a two game road swing at JMU and at William & Mary.

First up is JMU, a deep and experienced team who have won eight straight games and are led by the multi-talented Ron Curry. The senior guard is averaging 14.5 points per game along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. Head Coach Matt Brady plays nine players for more than 14 minutes per game, with seven of those chipping in five or more points per contest. They're also the best shooting team in the CAA thus far - a credit to the humming offense that doesn't miss a beat when the reserves check into the game.

Two days later the Cougs will travel to Williamsburg to take on The Tribe of that other College in the CAA. W & M has one of the CAA's marquee wins of the season - an 85-68 victory over NC State - and once again is a threat to shoot lights out from behind the arc. Daniel Dixon (shout out Langley High School) is more than just a spot up shooter in his junior year, and Omar Prewitt (CAA Rookie of the Year in CofC's inaugural Colonial season) is leading the team in scoring. Even with Marcus Thornton gone to the NBA, the Tribe are still in the running for their first ever Big Dance bid.

Luckily for the Cougars, they won't have to deal with raucous student sections at either venue. But they still need to come in with the focus and intensity we have seen in spurts. Charleston can't afford to turn the ball over or go through an extended scoring drought in league play. The stakes are high, with postseason seeding and eligibility on the line, for this still mostly inexperienced squad.

Play to Earl Grant's often-repeated pillars of defending, rebounding and sharing the ball and the Cougars can catch teams by surprise this year. CofC fans wouldn't mind picking up two quality road games in that fashion to start league play.    

Cougars End Non-Con Season on a High Note

Final Score: College of Charleston 86, Campbell 68
Top Performers:
Canyon Barry 30 pts, (11-18 FG, 5-9 3pt), 5 rebs
Troy Harper 25 pts, (8-19, 7-8 FT), 6 rebs, 4 asts

What a difference perspective makes. On Saturday against Miami, the ACC Network broadcasting crew applauded CofC's effort and toughness on defense, but when Miami started making a run they chalked it up to the superior length and athleticism of the Canes. Playing in front of just over 1,000 fans in Buies Creek, NC three days later, the Campbell broadcasters were in awe of "the best team the Camels have faced this year." The Cougars were just "big at every position, with quickness to boot."

It took this team a year or two to recruit the type of athletes to compete in the CAA, but Coach Grant's philosophy on winning with defense, rebounding and toughness has left its mark. The Cougars can at hang with most teams in the country in terms of size, and the 2015 and 2016 recruiting classes prove that.

Against the Campbell Camels of the Big South yesterday, CofC looked like their were in a different weight division. The sub-six foot freshman scoring sensation Chris Clemons was held to an inefficient 14 point night, the Cougars dominated the glass (36-24) and Canyon Barry reached 30 points for the third game this year and made it look relatively effortless.

Against the Camels' zone defense, the Cougars moved the ball to open shooters (usually Barry, who had 25 in the first half). Marquise Pointer tied his career high with 16 points, Cam Johnson bounced back from the Miami game with 15 points. Payton Hulsey controlled the offense and pulled down an insane 12 boards from the point guard position.

Down by as much as 27 in the second half, Campbell threw the kitchen sink at CofC when they rotated in their fastest players and switched to full court pressure. The Cougars were clearly rattled and turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions to allow a 14-0 run by the Camels. It wasn't until Hulsey came back in and made two big layups that the Cougars steadied themselves. 

CofC was lucky they had built themselves such a big lead, because that bad stretch was very Miami-like in shifting the momentum. We saw the damage the points-off-turnovers snowballing can have, so the Cougars will need to correct that over the coming days before conference play begins.

But really, that was the only stain on an otherwise dominant performance by the Cougars. It's not even New Years and Charleston is just one win shy of their season total from last year. The new players have all been good to great contributors, and guys like Barry and Johnson are much improved. There's no team in the CAA that looks like a runaway favorite. The Cougars will look to make a good first impression on the league with a Virginia road trip against JMU on New Years Eve and William & Mary on January 2nd. 

More notes:

• The Marquise Pointer two hand jam coming down the lane may have been the play of the year so far for Charleston. Totally unexpected and representative of the explosiveness these CofC freshmen possess. 
• Of Campbell's 13 turnovers for the game, 8 came off steals from the CofC defense
• For the game, Charleston shot 58% from the floor, 47.4% from three and 65% from the line
• Campbell received zero points from their bench in this game. CofC reserves poured in 21 

Miami Uses Second Half Surge to Snap CofC Win Streak

Final Score: Miami 85, College of Charleston 63
Top Performers:
Canyon Barry 20 pts (8-20 FG), 3 stls
Ja'Quan Newton 20 pts (6-8 FG), 7 rebs, 4 stls

For about 25-28 minutes on Saturday, the young Charleston Cougars held their own with the ultra-experienced and nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes down in Coral Gables. Canyon Barry displayed the full repertoire of offensive moves in his arsenal (after being held scoreless in this matchup last year), Jarrell Brantley and James Bourne kept CofC competitive in the paint and the Cougar team defense stifled and frustrated one of the best shooting teams in the country.

Unfortunately, against a team of this caliber in their own arena, the Cougars needed to put together 38-40 minutes of near perfect basketball. After cutting the lead to one basket early in the second half, Jim Larranaga used a media timeout to wake his senior-laden team up. The Canes pinned their ears back in what the Miami head coach called "a tremendous defensive effort" and the home team capitalized. The Cougars were clearly rattled by the overall length and speed of the Canes - and it was most clear after that timeout.

When it rains this time of year in South Florida, it pours; and that's what happened in BankUnited Center. Miami turned turnovers into points over that stretch to extend their lead out of striking distance. Although both teams had 17 giveaways, the Canes had a 10 point advantage in capitalizing on such errors.

The ACC Network showed Coach Larranaga going over the two major keys to victory with his team before the game and it was a very solid scouting report: get out in transition before the stout CofC half court defense can get set, and get the CofC underclassmen in foul trouble by having them bite on shot fakes.

Miami accomplished both those goals for much of the second half. They dictated the pace, and CofC attempted too many ill-advised shots and passes. Four Cougars struggled with foul trouble, and fatigue eventually got to Barry and the CofC defense.

The loss is a wakeup call for Charleston, but hardly one that they should hang their heads over. Jarrell Brantley had his first collegiate double-double and looked like he belonged. Pointer had another very solid outing. Barry was as good as advertised and so was the team's defense. In a game where Charleston could not get shots to fall, and they were facing a defensively-committed Top-15 squad, Grant's team still put up 63 points.

The theme of the season was always about learning and getting better every day. The Cougs will play Campbell (who smoked Citadel in Charleston today) on Tuesday and will need to clean up the mental mistakes. Those are expected from a young team, but the potential for this developing CofC team is still clearly evident.

Some more notes:

• Cam Johnson had the unfortunate task of guarding Miami's best all-around player, guard Sheldon McClellan and the CofC sophomore really struggled. Cam was 0-4 from the floor for his first scoreless game, and committed 3 fouls and 4 turnovers. The team really needed a secondary scorer tonight, and Cam needs to find a way to generate offense outside of jumpers.
• James Bourne had a great stretch in the first half where he found himself wide open off the roll and was able to finish. He had 8 points in just 15 minutes.
• Miami held a 39-21 advantage in bench points. That team is capable of deploying really good players off the pine and they jumped on a tired CofC lineup.
• Larranaga mentioned after the game that Jarrell Brantley "could play in the ACC" - I'm glad he's in the CAA
• The Cougars had just one made three pointer in the second half (six attempts)

Toughest Test Yet as Cougars Travel to Miami

College of Charleston (7-2, 0-0)

El Cid (8-1, 0-0)

BankUnited Center

Tipoff at 2:00 pm on Fox Sports (regionally) and ESPN3

So far this season, the young, injury-depleted Cougars are outperforming the underwhelming expectations set this summer. With seven wins in their first nine games, CofC is just two victories shy of matching last year's season total. The eye test alone shows improvement, Coach Grant has familiarized the players with his system and a dash of new blood has revitalized the team. Practices have a looser tone and the team is clearly showing confidence (something they have lacked for some time) during the current five game win streak.

However, it has also been a softer schedule that has helped the Cougar pups get to where they now sit. Sure Davidson and LSU are no joke, but compared to last year's gauntlet of games that included UConn, WVU, Texas A&M and this same Miami team, the Cougars are not taking the same gut punches every week. And that's a good thing. It's tough to have faith in a system when you're routinely getting crushed by ranked teams. The Cougars never recovered from those losses and struggled all year.

The Miami team the Cougars face on Saturday will be the toughest game they have played so far and maybe the toughest game all year. The nationally-ranked, Jim Larranaga-coached Canes have just one loss on the season and ironically it was to a CAA team: Northeastern. Miami has had 11 days to prep for this game, and you know they won't be taking another mid-major team lightly. 

The first thing that you'll notice about the Hurricanes is their size; they are massive. They are also experienced, starting two redshirt seniors, one true senior, a fourth year junior and a true junior. Sheldon McClellan, the team's leading scorer, is an all-ACC caliber player who can break a defense down. The Cougars' staunch defense will also be tested against a team that ranks top-30 nationally in both points per game (85.2) and field goal percentage (49.9%).

It all amounts to a tall order for Earl Grant and the Cougars. In order to win, the CofC bigs will have to show up like they did against LSU - playing physically and rebounding without fouling. All Charleston players will have to protect the ball and hit shots. 

Northeastern won using that exact gameplan (plus some late game heroics from Quincy Ford). The confidence this CofC team is playing with is palpable, they will need it for this one.

CofC Cruises in Post-Exam Tune-Up

Final Score: College of Charleston 89, North Greenville 52

Top Performers: 
Canyon Barry 26 points (5-9 3pt), 3 rebs, 3 asts

Marquise Pointer 16 pts (6-7 FG, 2-2 3pt), 4 asts, 1 stl

It's not uncommon for teams to schedule soft games around the fall semester final exam period. Other CAA opponents this week include Delaware's Wesley College and Mary Washington University. The Cougars were no exception by placing Division II North Greenville on the schedule this afternoon - an unofficial tune-up game to get their legs and minds prepared for a tough road test against the nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes next weekend. 

The Cougars certainly started the game looking like their heads were not in this one - whether they were looking ahead to the Canes or knocking off the rust from being off the court for a couple days. The Cougars would fall into a quick 5-1 hole, but quickly got things turned around off their defense and sharing of the basketball.

Returning to form, the Cougars set a season high in points (89) and assists (22). Marquise Pointer set a new career high with 16 points, Evan Bailey regained his shooting stroke with a career high 14, Barry notched another 20+ point performance and the Cougars committed just 10 turnovers and 13 personal fouls.

Even though North Greenville was hot from behind the arc (7-16 for the game), the CofC defense clamped down to force 21 turnovers and 38% shooting from two point range. The Cougars had a blistering 35-0 advantage in points off turnovers.

You can't take too much from a game against a non-D1 opponent, but anything less than a blowout win by the Cougars would be disappointing and this one was never really close. The defense was there, shots were falling at a high clip (over 50% from the field, the arc and the line) and the walk-ons got a few minutes of playing time.

Meanwhile, Jim Larranaga and the Miami Hurricanes are in the middle of 11 days of prep for their home contest against the Cougars. In order for CofC to sneak out of Coral Gables with a win, they'll need to execute to near perfection and maybe hope for a bit of a post-exam rustiness by The U.

More notes below:

• Twelve Cougars saw playing time in this game, including John Eck, Tim Branin and Harrison Bowne. Five players (Barry, Pointer, Bailey, Brantley, Johnson) scored in double figures.
• Donovan Gilmore returned to the court after suffering an ankle injury versus LSU and came off the bench to contribute five rebounds and a basket in 16 minutes
• The NBA saw it's first 5 x 5 game in four years from Draymond Green the other night. Payton Hulsey is going to come close to accomplishing the same one day. Once again he led the Cougars in assists (5) and rebounds (6). He already has a five steal game and registered two blocks today. He also averages 5 points per game.
• Great body language from the Cougars for much of this game. Loved seeing Brantley dive for a loose ball and Cam pumping up the bench after forcing a turnover. The team is loving this five game win streak and they'll need that energy next week.