Behind six players scoring in double figures and a 25-0 run that opened up the game midway through the second half, the Bucs coasted past Virginia Wise Saturday night, 90-60, at CSU Field House.

Among the double digit scorers for the Bucs Saturday were forwards Giedrius Knysas (Vilnius, Lithuania), who registered a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Quinton Goods (Greensboro, N.C.), who had 10 points. The twosome became the first CSU "big men" on the year to post double digit scoring nights, a product of an attempt by the Bucs to exploit their decided height advantage over the Highland Cavaliers. With the two forwards leading the way, the Bucs raced out to a 23-8 advantage early in the first half.

Virginia Wise hung tough throughout the first half, however, and the lead would be cut down to just five with under two minutes remaining in the half. The Highland Cavaliers eschewed long-range shooting for a dribble-drive attack, which worked with a great deal of effectiveness. The NAIA school had a relatively balanced scoring attack in the first half, but Jarred Soles lead the way for the team in the half and the game, scoring nine points in the first half and 16 on the night.

The Bucs would respond late in the half to build up a 42-32 lead at the interval. Leading the way in the crucial moments of the first half was the team's second-leading scorer on the night and on the season, Shelton Carter (Greensboro, N.C.). Shelton began the stretch with a three-pointer before then grabbing a defensive rebound and finding freshman Omar Carter (Charlotte, N.C.) streaking down the court for a slam dunk, part of Omar's 13 point first half and night.

Shelton continued to play well early in the second half, with another three-pointer by the sophomore putting the finishing touches on a 12-2 run that spanned both halves and built the Buc lead to fifteen. Following this run, UVA-Wise would hang tough for a while as the two teams traded baskets before the decisive 25-0 run that put the game well beyond reach.

Keying the run once again was Shelton, who scored on a breakaway dunk off a pass from Omar. Shelton then showed great awareness in picking off the ensuing inbounds pass. Carter passed off to Jamarco Warren (Gainesville, Ga.), who cooly connected on a floating layup as part of his 11 point night.

While Warren continued to pour in the points during his hottest stretch of the game, guard Chris Moore (Morgantown, N.C.) remained consistently effective as CSU built its lead. Moore twice earned three points the hard way in the run as the Highland Cavalier defense struggled to keep up with the senior. All told, Moore connected on a near perfect seven of eight field goal attempts en route to leading the Bucs with 18 points on the night.

The run was also as much a product of the defense as the offense. The Bucs held Virginia-Wise to 10 of 32 (31.3 %) field goal shooting in the half, a number that would have been much lower had the Highland Cavaliers not ended the game on a 10-0 run. Also, the Bucs did a very solid job of throwing the NAIA school's offensive attack out of its comfort zone with pressure defense, forcing 11 Highland Cavalier turnovers in the second half alone.

Virginia Wise ended the eight minute drought with a three-pointer from Robert Amis, and the 10-0 game-ending run would improve the game from an aesthetics standpoint on their end, but the Bucs would still emerge as 30 point victors once the final horn sounded.

When glancing at the post game box score, CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh should be particularly pleased by CSU's decided edges in shooting, as the team shot 54.7% on the night, and rebounding, as the Bucs held a 46-28 edge on the glass over UVA Wise.

The Bucs likely need to continue to perform well in both these areas of the game Monday night, when the level of competition will increase as Radebaugh's squad will host the Auburn Tigers of the SEC at 7:30 at the North Charleston Coliseum.