CHARLESTON – Thursday night, the Charleston Southern Men's Basketball program celebrated Senior Night as they hosted the (12-2 in Big South play) Winthrop Eagles. The Bucs defeated the Eagles, 86-84.

In the night's first 91 seconds, Winthrop's Daylen Berry would score two tough buckets at the rim. Two big slams by CSU's Lase Olalere, along with baskets by Jaquias Franklin and Jesse Hafemeister would help the Bucs jump out to a 10-6 lead in time for the first media timeout.

Coming out of the game's first timeout, Buccaneer-point guard Luke Williams would make his return to court after being sidelined with an injury since January 14th. For the following five minutes only three combined field goals would be made from both squads, allowing the Eagles to tie the score at 13-13. 

Later in the half, threes began to rain from both offenses – two of which belonged to Jaquias Franklin. Franklin's back-to-back long range connections would put the Bucs up six (25-19). Later in the run, a bucket from Trent Coleman would force an Eagle-timeout as CSU led 31-23 with 5:45 to play in the period, and as the teams entered the halftime locker room, the Bucs were up 42-36.

After continuing to make shots and maintain the lead in the second-half, CSU would eventually trail, 64-65 with 6:47 to go. The two programs traded buckets until CSU's dark horse hero of the night, Jaquias Franklin continued to take over. A 10-4 run by Franklin alone would stretch the CSU-lead to seven (78-71) with 3:01 to play. Buckets by Sumler and Hafemeister, and a handful of free throws would earn the Buccaneers their 10th home win of the 2025-26, 86-84 over Winthrop.

Notables:

• After only making three combined field goals in Big South play before Thursday night, Jaquias Franklin led all scorers with 24 points.

• A'lahn Sumler would record his 9th 20+ point performance of conference play with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists vs Winthrop.

• Jesse Hafemeister also entered double-figures with 16 points and 6 boards – shooting 50% (4/8) from three and 60% overall (6/10).

• CSU achieved their 10th home win in a single-season for the first time since 2018-19.

• CSU beat the Eagles Thursday night for the first time since 2019.

Up Next:

On Saturday, CSU will play their final game of the regular season. The contest at UNC Asheville will tip-off at 2:00 PM and is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+.

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