CSU Welcomes Preseason Fave High Point to Buc Dome

CSU looks for its first win in over a month with a re-match against the High Point Panthers on Saturday night at the Field House.

The game will be broadcast live in the Lowcountry on 106.3 FM (WJNI) beginning at 7:15 pm. Having just completed a stretch of three straight road games, the Buccaneers (7-17, 1-8 Big South) will happily play three of their final five games at home.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Continued game notes are available below as well as in pdf form at the following link: High Point at CSU Game Notes.
In addition to WJNI’s coverage, the broadcast can also be heard online through Teamline at the following link: http://www.teamline.cc/sportpage?teamcode=2942&eventcode=6.
Further, a live video broadcast of the game, as well as live statistics, will be available at the following links:
Video (Big South Edge, subscription service): http://www.bigsouthsports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800
Live Stats: http://upload.athleticsite.com/csusports/livestats/xlive.htm

The Bucs have dropped seven straight games following a 109-85 loss at VMI on Monday - but five of those seven losses came on the road, while the two home contests were against the top two teams in the Big South (UNCA and Winthrop). CSU has lost 12 out of 14 overall since a 5-5 start to the season.
The Panthers (14-10, 6-4), the preseason conference favorite, are coming off an 80-71 win against first-place UNCA Wednesday. After losing two of its first three Big South contests, High Point has won six of eight overall to move into third place in the standings. Preseason Big South player of the year Arizona Reid is second in the conference in scoring (23.3 ppg) and first in rebounding (11.0 rpg).
CSU dropped the first meeting between the team’s, 73-47, on Jan. 21st at the Millis Center. The Bucs were held to season low totals of 47 points, 31.9% shooting and 25 rebounds in that contest. Reid scored 24 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Panthers.

HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY
The Bucs and Panthers are meeting for the 21st time overall in a series that dates back to the 1998-’99 season. High Point leads the head-to-head series, 11-9, including wins in ten of the 18 meetings in Big South play. The teams have now met at least twice in ten straight seasons (every year since High Point joined the Big South in ‘98-’99.)
The Panthers have won the last three meetings between the teams, including a thrilling 95-87 overtime victory at the Bucdome on 1.20.07. The Bucs are 6-3 all-time in home games against High Point, 3-8 on the road and have never played on a neutral court. Since the arrival of Barclay Radebaugh in 2005-06, CSU is 1-4 against the Panthers.

WHERE THE HEART IS...
The Bucs have played much better in the friendly confines of the CSU Field House this season than away from it. The team is 6-4 when playing at the “Buc Dome”, while only 1-13 when it plays anywhere else.
Traveling away from North Charleston has been an unhappy proposition for CSU in recent memory. The team’s lone victory in a designated road or neutral site game in either of the last two seasons came on 11.23.07 at North Florida. The Bucs’ last Big South road win came nearly two years ago, on 2.28.06 at Birmingham Southern in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
CSU is a combined 14-11 in designated home games the last two seasons. Conversely, the Bucs are only 1-29 in road/neutral site games the last two campaigns.

IF YOU’RE SCORING AT HOME...
CSU is averaging 87 ppg in ten games played at the Field House (871 pts) this season, in which the offense has totaled at least 80 points all but twice. The team is shooting 47% from the field (319-673 FGs) at the “Buc Dome.”
The Bucs scoring average falls to 67 ppg in the 14 games played elsewhere this season (936 pts), during which the team’s field goal percentage drops to 40% (337-847).

THE BIG O!
Freshman forward Omar Carter has made a big splash on both ends of the court in his first season at CSU. Carter currently leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and in rebounding (6.3 rpg). In the program’s 42-year history, no Buc freshman has ever led the team in both scoring and rebounding for an entire season.
Omar is scoring 18.3 ppg the last three games (55 pts) after averaging only 7.3 ppg the previous three (at High Point, vs. UNCA and Winthrop, the top three teams in the Big South). Carter has scored in double-figures in 20 of the team’s 24 contests this season.
The Charlotte native was a North Carolina all-state selection at Charlotte Christian High School, where he helped lead his team to the state championship game his senior season.

EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
With a three-pointer at Radford on Feb. 9 with 56 seconds remaining in the game, senior Chris Moore became the 17th member of the 1,000-point club in CSU’s 43-season history. The Morganton, N.C. native also became the 86th player in Big South history to score 1,000 points in a career.
Moore is the first new member of the club in seven seasons (Nick Mitchell, 2000-’01). Below is the entire list of Buccaneer 1,000-point scorers:
1. Ben Hinson, 1983-’87 2,295 pts
2. Brett Larrick, 1993-’97 1,738 pts
3. Marion Salerni, 1965-’69 1,557 pts
4. T.L. Latson, 1992-’96 1,518 pts
5. Eddie Talley, 1978-’82 1,476 pts
6. Heder Ambroise, 1985-’89 1,248 pts
7. David Oliver, 1987-’91 1,245 pts
8. Darnell Sneed, 1991-’93 1,240 pts
9. Dan Franz, 1967-’71 1,238 pts
10. Jim Rooney, 1968-’72 1,225 pts
11. Bo Jamison, 1968-’72 1,218 pts
12. Jim Gardner, 1965-’68 1,203 pts
13. Nick Mitchell, 1997-’01 1,195 pts
14. Dave Kirk, 1970-’74 1,176 pts
15. Eric Burks, 1993-’95 1,139 pts
16. Adam Larrick, 1995-’99 1,078 pts
17. Chris Moore, 2004-’08 1,006 pts
Moore was named conference Player of the Week on Nov. 26 after averaging 19.0 ppg in two games, including a career-high 27 points in the team’s victory at North Florida.

ROOKIE DOMINATION
Between rookies Omar Carter and Jamarco Warren, a CSU player has won seven of the 13 Big South Freshman of the Week awards this season.
Carter took home the honor for the fourth time this season on Jan. 21st after averaging 23.0 ppg in two games the previous week, including a career-high 25-point night in the win against Radford Jan. 14. He earlier earned back-to-back awards on Dec. 10th and 17th, and also received the honor on Nov. 26 after collecting double-doubles in contests against Auburn and North Florida.
Warren won his third freshman award on Jan. 14, two days after his career-high 26-point performance against VMI that included a school-record eight three-pointers. He earlier earned the honor on Nov. 13 and Dec. 3 - the first after scoring 24 points in his first career game against Anderson, then the second after a week that included a 22-point effort at The Citadel followed by a 21-point game against the C of C.

SCORING SLUMP
The Bucs have struggled to score during their recent seven-game losing skid. CSU is averaging 68 ppg the last seven contests (479 pts) after having averaged 78 ppg through the first 17 games of the season. The Buc offense is shooting only 39% from the field during its current seven-game skid (169-431 FGs) after shooting 45% for the season up to that point.
Still, CSU is third in the Big South at 75.3 ppg overall, behind only high-octane VMI and first-place UNC-Asheville. The team has scored at least 70 points in 16 of its 24 games played this season.

GIMME, GIMME MOORE!
Chris Moore has cooled off since a torrid start to his senior season. During the team’s 2-12 stretch that began on Dec. 19, Moore is averaging 9.9 ppg (129 pts in 13 games played). In those 13 games, he is shooting only 39% from the field (43-111 FGs). Moore missed the Ohio Christian win on Jan. 5th because of a sprained ankle.
The recent struggles followed a streak of nine straight double-figure scoring games from Nov. 12 through Dec. 15, during which Moore averaged 17.7 ppg. He shot 55% (58-105) during that streak, including 31-of-62 on threes.

FULL COMPLIMENT OF CARTERS
After serving a three-game suspension, sophomore forward Shelton Carter was re-instated prior to the Dec. 15th game against Gardner-Webb. Carter’s suspension began on Nov. 28th because of behavior detrimental to the team.

TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
The Bucs have been one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country this season. With an average of 9.3 three’s per game, CSU is second in the Big South in making triples behind only VMI (12.3/gm), and 13th in the nation out of 328 ranked Division I teams (as of 2.14). The Bucs have made at least ten trifectas in 13 of their 24 games this season.

WARREN PEACE
True freshman Jamarco Warren has made his presence felt offensively at the outset of his CSU career. Warren has scored at least 20 points in eight of his 24 games played, and has led the team in scoring eight times this season. He is averaging a team-best 15.8 ppg in conference games.
The freshman has started all but two games this season (12.31 at Stetson, 1.28 vs. Winthrop), making him the most frequent starter on the squad. The 5-foot, 10-inch Warren is the all-time leading scorer at Gainesville (Ga.) High School, and was a first team all-state selection in Georgia his senior season.

BIG MEN SHORTAGE
The Bucs have been playing without the services of two big men since the beginning of Big South play. Sophomore forward Marquise DuVall has missed all nine conference games with a hip flexor strain. Brandon Macklin, another sophomore forward, has not played since Dec. 3rd (missed 15 straight games) because of coach’s decision.
In November, senior forward Vernon Huger decided to forgo his final basketball season in order to concentrate on preparing for April’s NFL Draft. Huger (pronounced YOUgee), CSU’s leading rebounder in the 2005-06 season, was second on the Buc football team this fall with 29 receptions and five TD catches.

BIG SOUTH NOTES
CSU, an original Big South member, is in the midst of its 23rd season of conference play. The Bucs currently hold a 159-191 all-time record in conference games, including a 137-173 mark in regular-season Big South affairs.
CSU won four of the first 12 Big South tournament championships, but haven’t won any of the ten since the 1996-97 season.

TOVI, OR NOT TOVI...
Highly-touted freshman Tovi Bailey has been producing offensively after getting close to 100% health. Bailey is averaging 7.6 ppg (91 pts) and 2.8 apg (34 ast) the last 12 contests, after averaging only 4.2 ppg and 1.9 apg the first nine games of his career.
The point guard has been working back to full strength after missing the first three contests of the season with a foot injury. The Villa Rica, Ga. native is the all-time leading scorer at Villa Rica High School with 1,883 career points, where he was an all-state selection his senior season. Bailey was looked at by many college programs, including Gonzaga, before choosing to attend CSU.

NEW FACES
With six newcomers and only two seniors on the roster this season, the Bucs are one of the youngest teams in the Big South. With the departure of last year’s seniors Donnell Covington and Dwayne Jackson alone, the Bucs lost 42% of their total offense from last season.
In the backcourt, freshman point guards Tovi Bailey and Jamarco Warren are serving as CSU’s primary ball-handlers this season, while freshman swingman Austin Johnson has earned expanded playing time at the outset of conference play. JUCO transfer Lorenza Knight provides depth at the point as well.
In the frontcourt, freshman forward Omar Carter continues to turn heads while leading the team in scoring, and East Carolina transfer Quinton Goods provides a solid rebounding presence underneath.

CSU HAS A (NOT SO) LITTLE LAMB
In November, the Bucs received a signed National Letter of Intent from current high school senior Joel (pronounced joe-EHL) Lamb. Lamb, a 6’7, 185 lb power forward, currently plays for Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in Georgia - the same school that recently produced NBA players Dwight Howard and Javaris Crittenton.
Justin Young, an analyst for the well-known recruiting Web site Rivals.com and also the publisher of the Georgia Hoops scouting service, recently called Lamb “one of the most improved players we’ve seen in the 2008 (Georgia) class this year.” Rivals.com ranks Lamb as a three-star recruit, making him one of the highest-touted signees in CSU program history.

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME?
For whatever reason, the Bucs have struggled in the months of December and January under Barclay Radebaugh. In Radebaugh’s three seasons as head coach, CSU is a combined 10-34 in those two months, while going 18-21 in the other three months of the season.
The Bucs went 2-6 this January after a 2-4 December. CSU is 0-3 this season in February, and 7-12 all-time under Radebaugh in the year’s second month.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Since Barclay Radebaugh took over the program in 2005-06, CSU has played very well against non-Division I opposition. Including four wins this season (vs. Anderson, UVA-Wise, Florida Christian, Ohio Christian), the Bucs have gone 11-1 under Radebaugh in games against non-Division I schools. The team’s last loss to a non-Div. I opponent came on December 28, 2005 when CSU fell to NAIA’s Southern Wesleyan 92-88 at home.