Riller, Brantley Help Push Win Streak to 10

After another undefeated week of CAA play, the Cougars have spun their win streak to double digits and are closing in on a regular season championship. Like most weeks, a 2–0 finish did not come easy, but the Cougars found ways to close out both JMU and UNCW.

James Madison, now free of a mumps outbreak that sidelined the team for over a week, remind me a lot of the 2015–16 Cougars. The Dukes are young and talented, and will push back on superior teams but also choke away late leads. Those traits are characteristic of upstart programs, and something the Dukes (like the Cougars before them) will have to grow out of with time.

The Dukes were very competitive at TD Arena earlier this year, and looked determined to get their payback in Harrisonburg. From the jump, JMU played this game with a lot more energy than the visitors. The Dukes forced five first half turnovers from CofC, largely off hustle plays like stealing inbound and outlet passes. Charleston was a little lackadaisical getting the ball up court and initiating the offense.

The first half also featured a scoring duel that would continue throughout the game. Grant Riller knifed his way through the defense and carried the Cougar offense with 16 of their 37 points before halftime. It goes without saying at this point, but Riller has really found his groove lately, aggressively attacking the seams in defenses and floating to the rim. On the other side of the court, JMU freshman Matt Lewis was on his way to a career night. The freshman point guard was 4 of 6 from the field and had 13 points for the home team as they went into the locker room down 2 at the break.

After halftime, the Dukes started to pull away. Nearly everything was going JMU’s way — three pointers hitting every part of the backboard before falling in, contested shots finding the bottom of the net, Joe Chealey having an off night and Lewis going berserk en route to 33 points. Everything was coming up purple as JMU pushed their lead to 10 with six minutes to go.

But the Cougars responded with a huge surge to close out regulation. We’ve said it before, but this year’s team, with five veteran players in the starting lineup, does not fold like teams of the past I-don’t-want-to-know-how-many-years. Jarrell Brantley scored 9 points after the above shot, getting to the rim and to the free throw line like a madman to claw Charleston back possession by possession.

After Matt Lewis was questionably fouled on a three-point attempt that put the Dukes up 6 with 3:19 to play, Brantley scored the last six points of the game to tie things up with about a minute to play. Ramone Snowden missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that would have given the Dukes a lead with 21 seconds to play. Joe Chealey’s game-winner was an inch too long the other way, and the game went to OT.

In the extra period, the Dukes were forced to play without starting center and noted Nick Harris agitator Develle Phillips, who had left the game with five fouls in regulation. That opened up the interior for Charleston, who had not hit a three since the first half. But in a circumstance where every possession mattered, JMU still had Matt Lewis, who kept them alive with five points in the extra time.

As would be expected, the Riller and Lewis battle came down to the wire. Lewis hit a jumper with 59 seconds to play to give him 33 and put the Dukes up two. Riller came down the other way and got a layup of his own for points 28 and 29 as well as a tied contest. On JMU’s next possession, it was Riller who darted into the paint and stole an entry pass that could have decided the game. With the ball, and the game tied at 78 apiece, Earl Grant decided not to call time and let Riller make a play. He did not disappoint.

Whatever Jarrell Brantley is screaming into Grant’s ear, I want that to be what my phone plays as an alarm every morning. Riller’s crossover hesitation dagger three is one of the plays of the year, and completed a heart-racing comeback to keep one of the nation’s longest win streaks alive.

The Cougars stole one in Harrisonburg, and it’s a good thing they did. Northeastern is quietly on their own 5-game winning streak, and still lingering a game behind the Cougars.

The other benefit to pulling one out of the hat against JMU is that the next game, at UNCW, had a loss written all over it as well. Charleston had beaten the Seahawks at Trask last season in one of the league’s best contests. Wilmington had also sold out the arena in advance of a matchup between the CAA’s 1st place team and defending champion. That venue is one of the toughest places to play in conference, and if the the Hawks get rolling like they did in Charleston, things could get out of control for CofC.

Despite UNCW’s record, Devontae Cacok still deserves a spot on the CAA’s first team. The country’s leading rebounder proved that against the Cougars on Saturday, nabbing the game’s first points on a dunk and closing out the first half with a double-double. He would go on to dominate the game, finishing with another absurd stat line of 29 points and 17 rebounds.

Coach Grant seemed willing to play the defensive style he has against most CAA teams built around talented big men — play him 1v1, and don’t open up shooters by sending in help. Cacok got his, but the Charleston guards were glued to guys like Jordan Talley and Ty Taylor all night.

The Cougars got a nice scoring boost in the first half by getting out in transition. A few fortunate bounces, as well as guys sprinting down the court to get behind the Seahawk defense, allowed CofC to float a few passes over halfcourt and get easy buckets. Charleston had a 10–0 advantage in fast break points in the first half. But they also had their way against set UNCW defenses.

Someone or something lit a fire under Jarrell Brantley’s butt, because he was in kill mode. Maybe it was the reception he was getting in Trask after sinking the game-winner last season. Maybe it was the chance to go against Cacok and the 2x champs. Maybe it was former Seahawk Chuck Ogbodo chirping from the sidelines. Whatever it was, it spurred Brantley to score the Cougars’ first 11 points by himself. When Jaylen McManus subbed in for Harris, JB switched onto Cacok, and got even more charged up. He had the most success defending Devontae, and put a few Brantley signatures moves on him in the paint and from behind the arc.

McManus gave good minutes as well. Something about playing Wilmington gets him going. He’s gone for 6 points in both games against UNCW this season (his second most in conference play), and had his season high in points against the Seahawks last season. Jaylen had a pair of and-1’s in the first half that kept the CofC offense churning, and put pressure on UNCW’s reserves to keep pace.

With everyone hitting on offense, including Joe Chealey, who had a nice bounceback game, the Cougar offense was rolling. Charleston shot 65% from the floor in the first half for 39 points.

In the second period, UNCW put together a run of their own to tie the game 57–57 with 10 minutes to play. Despite CB McGrath’s more traditional coaching style, the Seahawks still move extremely well without the ball, and they were able to capitalize early in the second. When they did miss, Cacok was usually able to clean it up.

But it seemed as if the Seahawks started to lose their legs after that tie, which was the closest they would get after the 7:24 mark of the first half. Due to the aforementioned JMU mumps outbreak, UNCW was playing a revised schedule that rewarded them with three games in five days. In the up-and-down style were the Seahawks excel, that leads to a lot of fatigue. The exhaustion reared itself in Wilmington’s defense. Charleston actually outshot their already sizzling first half numbers, dropping in a ridiculous 71% of their attempts after halftime. Their 49 points after the half were CofC’s highest second half total since their game against Delaware on Jan. 2.

Brantley and Riller combined for 51 points on 19 for 25 shooting from the field, including 7 of 9 from three. Brantley likely would’ve finished with even better numbers had he not been limited to 27 minutes with foul trouble. But Riller and Chealey were able to finish what Brantley started, pushing Charleston over the 80 point mark for the 5th straight game. They reached that plateau just three times in conference play last season.

With two games to play, the Cougars need just one victory to clinch the top seed in the CAA Tournament and a safety net spot in the NIT. The first chance to do that is this Thursday against Elon at TD Arena. It will be Senior Night for Joe, Cam and Evan, and a chance to exact a bit of revenge against the Phoenix (who beat the Cougs once this year). Elon is struggling as of late, losing three straight and 7 of their last 9, but will be up for the competition.

One win would also secure at least a tie of Charleston’s best CAA record since joining the lead five years ago. The team lost just four conference games last season, and can still best that by winning their final two games. Hard to believe that a record-breaking conference season would still be in play after the Cougars lost three of their first six CAA games. But I guess that’s one of the unpredictable bonuses to going 36 days with nothing but wins.