CSU Races Past San Lazero, 86-69

Photo by Al Samuels-AlSamuels.com

SANTO DOMINGO, D.R. – Jeremy Sexton paced three double figure scorers with 17 points as Charleston Southern closed the first half on an 8-0 run and dominated the third quarter of play to pull away from San Lazero for a 86-69 victory on Monday night.

Sophomore Saah Nimley chipped in 15 points and drained three three-pointers in the third quarter as the Bucs outscored San Lazero 26-11 in the period to take a 22-point lead into the fourth quarter. Nimley tallied 10 of his 15 markers during the stanza, while junior Joe Williams provided another highlight reel moment with a put-back dunk in traffic.

Sheldon Strickland contributed 12 points and four rebounds, and sophomore Arlon Harper rounded out an excellent performance by the CSU backcourt with eight points and four rebounds. Harper also made his presence felt on the defensive end, snaring four first quarter steals to help keep the Bucs close in the early going.

"Tonight we played like ourselves,” Charleston Southern Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh said of his team’s outing in the second of three contests on the mission trip. “Our focus and intensity was high from the start. Defensively, we were active. Arlon is such a special defensive player. We also rebounded extremely well. Our post players were a strong presence on the glass. When we run, shoot, and share the ball like we did tonight, we can be explosive offensively. The team we played today was good, and we took total control in the third quarter. I knew we would play better tonight than we did last night."

CSU took its first advantage of the game at 11-10 when Harper flew into the passing lane for a steal and converted a dunk of the other end to cap a 6-0 run. San Lazero rebounded to take a 17-16 lead into the second period and still enjoyed a one-point cushion with three minutes remaining until intermission. That’s when the Bucs took control, however, as Mathiang Muo swished a trey to trigger an 8-0 run and put CSU in front for good. Sexton added a free throw during the spurt, which was punctuated by a Harper score and Nimley’s coast-to-coast layup just before the buzzer.

The onslaught continued after the break, as a Sexton three gave CSU its largest advantage of the night at 71-45. Junior big man Allie Fullah also factored into the run with a layup and two free throws in support of Nimley’s barrage, a pair of buckets from Sexton, and Williams’ high-flying exploits.

Williams threw down another dunk to thwart any momentum San Lazero had generated off a 6-0 run in the fourth. Nimley and Sexton sailed home two more triples to build the lead back to 23 points, and junior Thomas Odom joined in on the fun with a beautiful feed for Fullah which led to an easy deuce.

Strickland capped the scoring with a fast-break layup, capping a fulfilling day and evening for the Bucs’ basketball program. CSU spent much of the morning visiting and playing with children at the La Ramana (Children of Christ) Orphanage. For more information about the foundation and home, click here.

"Today was the best day of the trip so far,” Radebaugh said. “Our trip to the orphanage was one of the most meaningful and emotional experiences I have had as a college basketball coach. To see our players and staff totally immerse themselves in sharing God's love with the orphans was absolutely amazing. Our players were terrific. We very quickly connected with the children. We jumped rope, played volleyball, played board games, danced, and laughed. The emotion came when we had to leave. I know that God loves each of the orphans deeply and has a special and unique plan for their lives, but we had to leave them. I will never be the same."

Following an off-day tomorrow, CSU will wrap up its game action in the Dominican Wednesday in a matchup with the San Pedro team. For an individual statistical breakdown from Monday’s game, see below.

For an updated photo gallery of the Bucs' mission trip to date, click here.

Name   (Points, Rebounds)
Arlon Harper       8, 4
Sheldon Strickland     12, 4
Saah Nimley      15, 0
Jeremy Sexton     17, 2
Mitchell Deter      0, 1
Joe Williams       4, 3
Paul Gombwer      3, 9 
Malcolm Bernard      6, 5
Mathiang Muo      5, 4
Cedrick Bowen      8, 5
Allie Fullah       8, 4
Thomas Odom   1 assist to Fullah in 4th quarter