Friday, January 3, 2014

Charleston Cougars Host Howard In Final Non-Conference Tune-Up

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (7-7, 0-0 CAA) vs. HOWARD (3-13, 1-1 MEAC)
Game #15
January 4, 2014 4:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.

Television: MyTV Charleston
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: CofC Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: CofC def. Howard, 77-73, on Dec. 30, 2002 at State Farm Classic in Charleston, S.C.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCSports.com
Free Live Video: www.ustream.tv/channel/charleston-sports-network---cofcsports-com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Doug Wojcik
Second Year at CofC: 31-18 (.633)
Ninth Year Overall: 171-110 (.609)

Howard: Kevin Nickelberry
Fourth Year at Howard: 25-79 (.240)
Seventh Year Overall: 75-126 (.373)

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson

TELEVISION (MyTV Charleston)
Play-By-Play: Jeff McCarragher
Color Analysts: Nate Ross and John Kresse

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men’s basketball team (7-7) plays host to Howard (3-13) in its final non-conference tune-up on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston. The Cougars are looking to make it a 3-0 week after claiming a pair of road victories at former Southern Conference rivals The Citadel (72-48) on Dec. 29 and Davidson (76-64) on Jan. 1. The squad is playing some of its best basketball of the year shooting a season-best 60.5 percent from the field at Davidson on New Year’s Day. They also outrebounded the Bulldogs and Wildcats by an average of 12.0 boards per contest and outscored them by an average margin of 18.0 points combined. Defensively, CofC held both teams to one of its lowest-scoring outputs of the season – a stat category the Cougars have consistently ranked in the top 30 nationally and tops in the Colonial Athletic Association this year holding opponents to 62.9 points per game. Graduate senior Willis Hall (Charlotte, N.C.) reeled off a monster game at Davidson with career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (21), while junior floor general Anthony Stitt (Charlotte, N.C.) has led the team to a 1.38 assist-to-turnover ratio (29-21) in the last two outings including a personal-best nine assists versus the Wildcats. Hall became the first known CofC player to record a 20/20 double-double performance in the Division I era of the program (1991-Present). Meanwhile, Howard is fresh off of coast-to-coast travel having last played at Southern Cal (L, 82-60), prior to the New Year on Dec. 29 in Los Angeles.

THE SKINNY ON THE BISON

Howard is looking to end a two-game losing stretch. The Bison last defeated Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foe Delaware State in a 64-62 overtime thriller won on a last-second layup by freshman guard/forward James Miller on Dec. 15 at the Big Apple Classic held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. CofC will be the program’s second CAA opponent of the season having lost in overtime (84-79) at home to William & Mary on Nov. 30. Howard has one of the youngest teams in the country with nine freshmen on the roster including leading scorer, James Daniel, who is averaging 19.8 points per game which ranks among the top 40 nationally among NCAA Division I scoring leaders. The former Virginia Tri-State Player of the Year also ranks in the top 20 in three-point field goals made per game (3.33 avg.) and missed the USC game with a toe injury.

WATCH MYTV CHARLESTON

Local affiliate MyTV Charleston can be viewed locally over the air on Channel 36.1, on Channel 36 for DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-verse subscribers as well as Channel 13 for Comcast, Knology and Time Warner cable subscribers in the Charleston, South Carolina, television market. MyTV Charleston also reaches as far as the Orangeburg, Walterboro and Georgetown areas.

SERIES REWIND

College of Charleston leads 1-0 in the all-time series with Howard. Both teams last met in the championship game of the State Farm Good Neighbor Classic on Dec. 30, 2002 held at the old John Kresse Arena. Former CofC standouts Thomas Mobley and Troy Wheless scored 18 and 16 points respectively to lead the Cougars to a 77-73 win over the Bison. It marked CofC’s fifth consecutive State Farm Classic title. Howard took a 58-57 lead with 6:38 remaining on a layup by Quadir Habeeb, however, the Cougars answered with a 10-3 run and hit their last eight free throws over the final 43 seconds to secure the win. Wheless and Mobley were named to the all-tournament team along with MVP Mike Benton, who registered 15 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots against the Bison. CofC beat Maryland-Baltimore County, while Howard downed Oral Roberts for a spot in the title game.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS

#22 Anthony Stitt, G, 6-1, 180, Jr. (9.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 34.1 min)

#24 Canyon Barry, G, 6-6, 195, RS-Fr. (9.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 24.7 min)

#3 Anthony Thomas, SF, 6-7, 207, Sr. (7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.5 apg, 23.3 min)

#53 Willis Hall, F, 6-6, 235, Sr. (11.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 32.0 min)

#1 Adjehi Baru, F, 6-9, 225, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.0 min)

PROJECTED HOWARD STARTERS

#10 Keon Hill, G, 5-9, 170, Fr. (3.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 16.8 min)

#2 Kofi Andoh, G, 6-4, 185, Fr. (2.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.6 apg, 13.9 min)

#3 Prince Okoroh, F, 6-5, 220, Jr. (15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 33.0 min)

#20 Solomon Mangham, F, 6-7, 210, Fr. (7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.0 apg, 27.1 min)

#5 Marcel Boyd, C, 6-10, 230, Fr. (5.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 18.8 min)

CONFERENCE PLAY ON THE HORIZON

The Cougars will commence their inaugural season in the CAA with their home opener against James Madison on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. Prior to joining the league on July 1, 2013, CofC compiled a 33-12 (.733) overall record against the Colonial and their current and past members.

COUGARS AGAINST THE MEAC

CofC is 17-13 (.567) all-time against schools hailing from the MEAC including Coppin State (1-3) which it last faced in 1992, Hampton (1-0) in 1999, Howard (1-0) in 2002, Maryland Eastern Shore (1-1) in 1990, Morgan State (2-0) in 1992, North Carolina A&T (1-1) in 1993 and South Carolina State (10-8) in 2010.

   Howard Game Notes

COURTESY COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

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