North Charleston, S.C. - Charleston Southern (1-2, 0-0) played their first of three home games at the North Charleston Coliseum Thursday, but they were unable to outlast the hot shooting of the College of Charleston Cougars (3-1, 0-0) in a 93-83 loss. The Buccaneers were just a few stops away from a win against their cross-town rivals, who shot 51 percent from the floor on the night.

Jamarco Warren poured in 20 points for the second consecutive game to lead CSU in scoring. Freshman Kelvin Martin continued to play above the rim, recording a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, 6 of which were on the offensive end. Omar Carter used his physical play to get to the line 8 times and finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds. For the Cougars, Andrew Goudelock led the team in both scoring and assists with 20 and 4, respectively.

The Buccaneers traded baskets early on in the game, and a layup from JT Knight tied things up at 11-11. CofC went on to hold a slight advantage, but Martin was rewarded with a layup after some hard work on the glass to put the score at 22-26 with 8:58 left in the half. From that point, the Cougars went on a 19-9 run paced by Antwaine Wiggins who had 12 points in the half.

Warren hit a three to end the half and go into the locker-room with a 45-34 deficit. Martin led CSU in scoring in the first half with 9 points on 4-7 shooting.

The Bucs started things off right in the second with a pair of free throws from Carter and a Warren layup. The Cougars came right back to establish a double-digit lead, and would hold that lead for the majority of the game. Trading points was the story in the second half, as the Cougars had an answer for any number of baskets from CSU.

Freshman Joel Lamb provided a spark off the bench, hitting a pair of jumpers, including a three with 2:10 to play to put the score at 76-86. Billy Blackmon played tough in the second half, shooting perfect from the field with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Warren attempted some late game heroics with his fourth triple of the night, to cut the lead to 8 with 1:23 left to play. The Cougars were able to hit their foul shots down the stretch as the clock winded down with a 93-83 final score.

CSU played even up with the Cougars in the second half, outscoring them by one, but the 56 percent shooting from CofC in the first half was too much to overcome in the end.

The Bucs will continue to play at home, when they welcome Taccoa Falls to the CSU Field House on Saturday, November 22nd, for a 7:30 contest.