CHARLESTON – Tuesday night, Charleston Southern hosted the IU Indy Jaguars in the Buc Dome. CSU would win the high-paced contest, 103-91.

After the opening tip, IU Indy did what they've done all year – score points and score them quickly. With the Jags up 11-2 just 2:25 into the evening, CSU-Head Coach Saah Nimley called the first time-out of the game, and the Bucs let the visitors from Indiana whose house they had traveled so far to enter. Charleston Southern would outscore the visiting Jaguars by 29 through the remainder of the night's first-half. The stars primarily responsible for the first-half microwaving were Armari Carraway and A'lahn Sumler. The duo combined for 34 of the Bucs' 59 points.

Although they cooled off a bit (from 57.5% to 44%) in half number two, CSU maintained their advantage well into the back half of the Tuesday contest. For a program that has struggled in the depth-department in recent history, this year's Buccaneer roster took advantage of the availability they had at their disposal and those available players showed out. 55 of CSU's 103 points came from the bench – a category they outperformed IU Indy by 28 in (55-27).

Despite an unrelenting effort by IU Indy until the game's end, CSU won their second home game of the young season – 103-91.

Notables:

• A'lahn Sumler recorded his first 20+ point outing of the season, nearly cracking the 30-threshold with 29 – shooting 11/13 overall from the floor.

• In his second start of the season, Armari Carraway erupted for 24 points – shooting 7/16 from three.

• Brycen Blaine posted the team's only double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench – shooting 3/6 from deep and 6/7 from the foul-line.

• Trent Coleman snagged five rebounds in 18 minutes, while also adding ¾ made free-throws.

• On the night, CSU shot 52.3% from the field – they're best shooting efficiency performance of the season thus far.

• Jaquias Franklin led the Bucs with 5 assists while also recording the 500th assist of his college career.

Post-Game Points:

"As always, I'm appreciative to get a win… Credit to IU Indy. That's who they are. They scrape. They fight… Credit to our guys for handling that (odd defensive system) for the way they did for a majority of that game – especially without one of our primary ball-handlers in Luke Williams. I though our guys did a great job of wanting the ball, stepping through traps, making sound plays, and on the backend I think we executed really well offensively… I think our defense did their job today, so credit to our guys."

When asked about the route of preparation to keep Indy's fast pace at bay, Nimley answered, "We prepared for their press… We felt that we could get (the shots) we wanted in the half-court if we just took our time to execute… We had a tough week last week. We lost two games that our program feels like we should have won, and in one of them we were up by 20. When we got up by 20 today, I think that feeling came into them of not wanting to feel like that again… We just kept stepping up to the moment any time it got tight, so I think that experience we had last week really helped us."

When asked how he felt in his welcome back-styled moment Tuesday night, A'lahn Sumler answered, "Shoutout to Buc Nation… It's really just (Coach Nimley). We always talk about the offense and trusting the system. We've got a lot of guys… the game is going to open up for each of us on any given night. Tonight was my night – that's just proof of my work."

When asked about the feeling of having the quantity of players he has who can explode for a high number in the scoring column, Nimley answered, "It feels really good. One thing we've struggled with the past couple of years in depth, and I made it known this Spring to my staff that we were not going to have that issue anymore… We take pride in our evaluations, and one thing we try to do is find those guards who can get to it. Thank God we have about five of them this year."

When asked about Jesse Hafemeister's consistency and subtle-box score impact, Nimley answered, "Like you said, he's consistent. He came here in the summer… and all he did was just work. He never complained. He never put his head down… When we came back from the summer, the dude just started to rise… He's now hit that point of being a consistent starter… What he goes out there and does doesn't surprise anybody. He's tough. He wanted the ball tonight, and he made very sound plays."

On the note of unsung heroes from Tuesday night's shootout, Coach was asked about his post players' impact and defensive value, Nimley answered, "People on the outside don't know this, but (the post players) are the most important guys in our program… We're so dependent on passing them the ball offensively, as well as them doing what they do behind our defense… I really like our group that plays the five for us (Devin Brafford, Trent Coleman, Reis Jones, and Lase Olalere). They're great guys. They're high IQ kids, and they understand their job while striving to do it well every night."

When asked about his first high-scoring affair since the Spring of 2024, A'lahn Sumler answered, "I've been through a lot of adversity, but all I can do is give thanks to God. I've put a lot of work in with the year I was off, and taking care of my body. Really all I do is trust God to keep playing and do what I do."

Up Next:

CSU will take on the East Carolina Pirates on Friday, November 21st in Greenville. The ball game will be played at 7:00 PM and is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

To see a full sit-down conversation with Coach Nimley discussing the Bucs' next opponents and previous game recaps, watch the "2025-2026 Nimley Coaches Show" on CSUsports.com, X/Twitter, or YouTube.

For all the most up-to-date coverage involving CSU Men's Basketball, follow us on Instagram and X/Twitter @csu_mbball.