A gutty effort from freshmen Omar Carter, Tovi Bailey and Jamarco Warren, who all scored in double figures for the Bucs Tuesday, would not be enough for the Bucs season to continue past the opening round of the 2008 Big South Tournament, as a splendid offensive performance from #1 seed UNC Asheville ended the Bucs season, 87-63.

CSU would pull as close as five with 12 minutes remaining in the game, largely thanks to an offense that came out firing at the outset of the second half. After scoring only 26 points in the opening session, CSU scored 21 points in the first eight minutes of the second stanza.

This outburst was almost entirely the result of the combination of excellent penetration by Bailey, who often beat his elder Asheville counterparts to the hole, strong mid-range shooting from Carter and the occasional deep ball from Warren. The freshmen trio combined to score 18 of the 21 points in this stretch for CSU, providing the Bucs with hope that they just might be able to pull the upset.

On the night, Carter finished with a team-high 18 points on eight of 14 shooting, Warren scored 14 points including 12 in the second half, and Bailey scored 13 points over a career-high 34 minutes in the final game of his freshman season.

Unfortunately, these efforts would not be enough to allow the night to belong to CSU, as an outstanding offensive effort from the Bulldogs down the stretch would be too much for CSU to overcome. The fireworks began immediately from Asheville following the CSU run, as Eddie Biedenbach's team answered the surge with a 13-1 surge of their own. One of the biggest shots during the run came from UNCA senior guard K.J. Garland, who for the second time Tuesday drained a deep three with the shot clock expiring to further build the Asheville advantage.

Garland and senior backcourt mate Bryan Smithson, Asheville's leading scorer, combined to help further extend the Bulldogs' advantage with timely shooting and the heady play one would expect from two fifth-year seniors. Garland finished the night with 13 points and a team-high eight assists, while Smithson scored 22 points, had five rebounds and dished out five assists of his own.

Also further aiding and abetting the Bulldog cause was foul trouble to Bailey and Carter, who each picked up their fourth fouls during the UNCA run. Asheville made the Bucs pay for their proneness to foul, as the Bulldogs made 21 of 25 free throws on the night. When not hitting their free throws, UNCA was hitting their three pointers, as the Bulldogs connected on 10 of 20 threes on the night, including four of six from Garland and three of four from Buc killer Reid Augst, who scored 11 points Tuesday. The young Buc shooters could not match this effort, as strong perimeter defense from Asheville held CSU to nine of 28 three point shooting.

CSU also had been right in the thick of the game in the early-going, as Bailey and Carter made an almost immediate impact in an attempt to drive their teammates on. Though CSU rarely lead, the Bucs did close to within one point at 22-21 halfway through the first half. Garland then began a late half Asheville push with the first of his buzzer-beater threes, which keyed a 15-3, six minute run that allowed UNCA to take a 37-26 advantage into the halftime locker room.

On the night, Asheville outshot CSU 50.9% to 43.9% and held a significant 41-20 advantage on the glass, highlighted by the Bulldogs pulling down 12 offensive rebounds to only four from CSU. Five Bulldogs had five-plus rebounds, paced by Vincent James, who was a force all night in the paint for UNCA en route to a 18 point, seven rebound performance.

Senior Chris Moore, meanwhile, would pace Charleston Southern in rebounding with seven in what will be the senior captain's last game in blue and gold. Though he struggled with his shot Tuesday, Moore contributed to the cause not only with his board work but his passing as well, as Chris dished out a season-high seven assists against just one turnover. Fellow senior Terrance Grier also made an impact in his CSU's swansong with three points in 10 minutes played.

While the program will surely not soon forget the contributions these two seniors have made to men's basketball at CSU, the return of the promising young nucleus that played so well Tuesday night and has played so well throughout the season will be a source of hope for 2008-2009. Through hard work and improvement across the board, coach Radebaugh and his squad will seek to improve upon a 10-20 final 2007-2008 record both next year and in seasons to come.