RICHMOND, Va. - Charleston Southern opened the 2010 Chicago Invitational Challenge with an 82-71 setback to the Richmond Spiders, Sunday, Nov. 21 at Robins Center. The Bucs (2-2) trailed by just three points early in the second half, but a 17-0 Richmond (3-1) spurt put the game out of reach.

Richmond shot 63.8 percent from the field, and hit 44.4 percent of its three-point attempts. CSU shot 48.1 percent on field goals and 50 percent from three-point range. Each team scored 19 points off of turnovers, and Richmond led, 34-24 in points in the paint and 26-23 in rebounds.

Jamarco Warren led all scorers with 21 points, reaching 20 for the second game in row. He hit four three-pointers, helping the team to a 10-of-20 performance beyond the arc. Jeremy Sexton nailed five triples, scoring a season-high 17 points. Freshman Sheldon Strickland scored in double-digits for the second game in a row, posting 12 points.

UR placed four players in double-figures, led by Darien Brothers with 15. Kevin Anderson added 14, including his 1,600th career point. Justin Harper added 12 points and Francis Martel, 11, for Richmond.

Trailing 45-36 at halftime, the Buccaneers came out firing during the early going in the second half, slicing the deficit to five points at 48-43 and again at 51-46. Kelvin Martin made the first basket of the second half, followed by a jumper by Warren to make it 45-40. Richmond hit a three-pointer, to which Strickland answered with a triple. Sexton hit his fourth triple to pull to within five at 51-46. He then found Martin for a layup on the break for a 51-48 score at 14:56.

Kenny Mitchell slammed one home to slice the margin to three, 53-50, as 13:34 showed on the game clock. Richmond answered with eight straight baskets, including three by Anderson, over the next five minutes to extend the lead to 20 at 70-50. The Spiders forced four turnovers and shot 8-for-10 during the 17-0 run. Warren brought the unanswered rally to a close with a three-pointer at 70-53. Sexton scored on CSU's next possession, making it 72-55. Richmond added another basket for a 74-55 edge.

CSU outscored Richmond, 16-8, over the final six minutes of play, with Strickland recording seven points, Warren notching six and Sexton sinking his fifth three of the ballgame during the closing surge. The Spiders dribbled out the clock for the 82-71 win.

To start the game, the Spiders sank three-pointers on their initial two possessions and led, 6-2, just one minute into the contest. Mitchell found his stride early, connecting on his first three field goal attempts while pulling the team into a 6-6 tie. Richmond subsequently staged a 9-0 run which included four points by Francis Martel and a three-point play from Anderson.

Warren ended the rally with a jumper, making the score 15-8 with 15 minutes left in the first half, while sparking a 12-2 CSU surge. Sexton drained a three-pointer, followed by a Chris Grier steal and breakaway layup which brought CSU to within two points at 15-13. The home team quenched the 5-0 run with a layup, making it 17-13. Warren then hit from downtown, slicing the deficit to one, 17-16. Jo'el Lamb gave CSU its only lead of the contest at 18-17 with a jumper with 12:13 to go. Harper responded with a three for the 20-18 lead for the Spiders.

Richmond continued their hot outside shooting, going 4-for-4 from three-point range with Brothers hitting from distance for a 23-18 advantage. Strickland made a pair of free throws, making it 23-20 before another Richmond trey by Dan Geriot built the lead to six at 26-20 with 8:28 to go in the first half.

Two free throws yielded a 28-20 Spiders lead, capping a 5-0 run. Sexton's second three of the game trimmed the deficit to three points at 30-27 as 6:42 remained. Richmond then scored six unanswered points and led, 39-30 after a 9-3 run over the next three minutes.

Sexton hit a three-pointer for a 39-33 score. Following a Spider free throw, Warren drained a step-back triple with 2:20 left, leaving the score at 40-36. Richmond ended the first half on a 5-0 run, converting three foul shots and receiving a jumper from Martel for a 45-36 halftime score.

The Spiders made 70 percent (14-of-20) of their field goals during the first half, including a 5-of-8 performance from beyond the arc. CSU converted at a 50 percent clip, hitting 13-of-26 from the field and 5-for-10 from downtown.

Warren led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, and Sexton hit three triples for nine points. Martel paced the Spiders in scoring with nine over the first 20 minutes.

CSU will next compete at Southern Illinois Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 8:05 p.m. in the second game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Richmond plays host to Southern Univ. Tuesday at noon.

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