CHARLESTON, S.C - Charleston Southern played in front of a near capacity crowd at the CSU Field House Saturday, as they hosted the Garder-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in Big South action. A slow start for the Bucs could not be overcome in the end, as the Bulldogs held on for an 86-70 win. CSU dropped to 5-13 with a 1-7 mark in the Big South, while Gardner-Webb improved to 9-10 and 5-4 in the conference.

Joel Lamb led the way for CSU, posting 17 points to go along with 9 rebounds and a 9-14 shooting effort from the field. Three other players for the Bucs reached double figures, including Jamarco Warren, Kelvin Martin, and Giedrius Knysas with 16, 11, and 10 points, respectively. The Bulldogs got 26 points from Grayson Flittner, who was on fire all night and put in six threes.

In the first half, Knysas was able to score on the first possession, but Gardner-Webb came roaring back with a 16-0 run, four minutes into the game. The Bulldogs had the shooting touch early in the first half and they were able to keep their lead at 16, with a 25-9 score and 11:46 on the clock. Five straight points from Warren put the score at 14-28 with 10:48 remaining in the first half.

Gardner-Webb went on to extend their lead to as many as 20 in the first half, leading 35-15 with 6:40 left on the clock. Lamb helped to end the half on a good note with five straight points to cut the lead to 13 with a 30-43 score. The Bulldogs however, were able hit a pair of free throws with 7 seconds to play to take a 45-30 advantage at the intermission.

Warren had 10 points and 2 assists in the first 20 minutes, with help from Lamb who had 7 points and 4 boards. Gardner-Webb had an impressive offensive first half, with three players in double figures and a 70 percent (7-10) effort from behind the arc.

CSU was able to fire up the crowd coming out of the locker room, via an alley-oop from Warren to Martin and then a four point play from Warren. That cut the deficit to 11 with a 36-47 score and just a minute off the clock. The Bucs traded baskets for the next several minutes, but the hot shooting for Gardner-Webb did not slow down. The Bulldogs went up by 20 again, this time with a 64-44 score and 12:48 remaining in the game.

CSU was able to stay aggressive on the offensive side and the Bucs found some life with a 9-0 run. A Martin layup capped off the run to put the score at 57-67 with 8:30 on the clock. CSU continued to put the pressure on and got it down to 7 with a 62-69 score and 5:46 left in the game. Unfortunately, the Bucs would never get closer and some late free throws for the Bulldogs extended the lead to 16 for a final 86-70 score.

CSU will be back in action on Tuesday, January 27th, at 7:30 p.m. when they host Morris College at the CSU Field House.