CHARLESTON, S.C. – In its Colonial Athletic Association regular-season finale, College of Charleston used its signature defense down the stretch to defeat Drexel, 75-66, before a sellout crowd of 5,112 fans on Saturday at TD Arena.
Led by a game-high 25-point performance from Grant Riller, the Cougars (17-13, 11-7 CAA) were able to send their five seniors, including Riller, off on a high note on Senior Day.
They await their final seeding for next week's Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship to be held on March 7-10 in Washington, D.C. Charleston has already claimed a first-round bye in the tournament and will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed playing on Sunday, March 8 in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 Delaware game at 2:30 p.m. (ET) or the No. 3 vs. No. 6 Northeastern game at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
Seniors Sam Miller (14 points and 8 rebounds) and Jaylen McManus (13 points and six rebounds) each turned in big performances to lead the Cougars on a two-game win streak heading into postseason play next week. Zep Jasper added 12.
Charleston led the majority of the contest until the Dragons (13-18, 6-12 CAA) tied it up late in the second half on two made free throws by Camren Wynter, 54-54, with 8:58 remaining in regulation.
It was Drexel’s seventh-straight loss. Zach Walton recorded a team-high 18 points, while James Butler grabbed 11 rebounds.
POSTGAME NOTES
• College of Charleston started all five of its seniors – Zach Rabinowitz, Grant Riller, Osinachi Smart, Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller. It was the first career start for Rabinowitz, a former student manager, who worked his way up to a roster spot as a walk-on the last two years.
• With the win, College of Charleston won its fourth-straight game in the series with Drexel. The Cougars now own a 13-6 lead in the series with the Dragons.
• Grant Riller registered a game-high 25 points including 4-for-9 from long range versus Drexel. It marked his 17th 20-point game of the season. He has now tabulated 2,448 career points to date which still ranks second all-time in school history and third all-time in CAA history.
• Sam Miller had a near double-double performance with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Drexel. It marked the fifth time in a single game that he led the Cougars in assists.
• Jaylen McManus was also in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds against the Dragons. It was his 17th career game in double digits and 12th of the season.
• Zep Jasper recorded 12 points and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line versus Drexel. It was his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season.
• The Cougars made a season-high tying 11 steals in the ballgame and converted 14 Drexel turnovers into 10 points.
• CofC, which leads the CAA in home attendance, had its second sellout game of the season with 5,112 fans in attendance on Senior Day.