Riller, Brantley lead Charleston past VCU 83-79

Dec 16, 2019, 08:06 am

RICHMOND, Va. -- Grant Riller and Jarrell Brantley combined to score 56 points and Brantley added a career-high 17 rebounds to power the Cougars to an 83-79 victory over VCU on Saturday.

Riller scored 30 on 10-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, for the Cougars (9-2). Brantley sank 7 of 17 shots and 12 of 15 free throws in notching his second straight double-double. Riller and Brantley came into the game as the fifth-best scoring duo in the country averaging 41.5 points per game. Zep Jasper scored 13 for the Cougars, who are off to their best start since 2011-12.

The Rams (7-4), who trailed 32-28 at halftime, jumped ahead 37-36 on a De'riante Jenkins 3-pointer with 17:24 remaining. Charleston took the lead for good at 48-46 on Brantley's layup with 11:48 left. Twice the Rams got within a bucket in the final 16 seconds, but Jasper and Riller hit two free throws each and Charleston prevailed.

Jenkins topped VCU with 23 points, but he made just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc as the Rams shot 22 percent from distance. Marcus Santos-Silva added 16 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double this season.