CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern men's basketball team pulled out a 68-61 victory over rival The Citadel in front of a packed house of 952 fans Tuesday, Nov. 16 at CSU Field House. The Buccaneers outscored the Bulldogs 8-1 over the final 2:34 of play to earn their first victory of the season.

With the win, CSU (1-1) has now claimed victory in each of its last two meetings with The Citadel (0-2), and is now 15-19 all-time against the Bulldogs. The Buccaneers are 4-2 vs. their city rivals under current head coach Barclay Radebuagh.

With the scored tied at 54-all in the late stages of the game, CSU staged a 6-0 run over a two-minute span to take a 60-54 lead. Kenny Mitchell started the rally with a put-back jumper. Following a Jeremy Sexton steal, Sexton passed to Mitchell on the break, and the forward sent home a resounding dunk. Sexton added a jumper at the 4:01 mark for a 60-54 score. Three field goals by Citadel's Cameron Wells over the next minute and a half evened the score, 60-60.

Kelvin Martin then cleaned the glass after a tough missed layup by Jamarco Warren, and Martin put it home for a 62-60 lead. On an ensuing possession, Martin grabbed the rebound of a Wells miss, and went the length of the court for a layup, drawing a foul in the process. He sank the free throw, making the score 65-60 with 36 seconds remaining. Wells made one foul shot with 18 seconds left to pull the Bulldogs to within four points, but the Bucs iced it from the charity stripe, winning, 68-61.

CSU Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh said, "It's a big win because of the respect that we have for Coach Driesell and the Citadel program. That's the best Citadel team I've seen in 10 years. Cameron Wells is . . . among the best players in the Southern Conference. That's a tremendous win for us and a real credit to our team and our resiliency because of the quality of that team."

Martin and Mitchell led the way for CSU, scoring 12 points apiece. Martin shot 5-of-7 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds, and earned three steals, while Mitchell hit 5-for-6 and pulled down five boards.

Johathan Brooks collected eight rebounds, while Sheldon Strickland scored nine points and Warren and Chris Grier notched eight points each.

Wells posted a game-high 19 points for The Citadel, and Austin Dahn tallied 15, hitting three shots from downtown.

CSU shot 50 percent from the field, shooting 60 percent during the second half, and went 10-for-16 from the line. The Citadel shot 43.4 percent and hit 3-of-15 on its three-point attempts. The Bulldogs held a slight 35-33 edge in rebounds, but also committed 14 turnovers to CSU's 11.

The Bulldogs controlled play in the early going on Tuesday, running out to a 19-9 lead midway through the opening half, and led at 23-15 with 6:16 left in the frame. CSU found itself in early foul trouble, with Citadel entering the bonus less than six minutes into the game.

The Buccaneers, stepping up the defensive pressure, stormed back to take the lead at 26-23 with a 17-4 run, capped with 2:19 left before intermission by a Grier triple. The extended rally included an 11-0 surge which included jumpers by Brooks, Strickland and Stanley Honorat, a Kelvin Martin dunk and the Grier three. The Citadel reclaimed the lead with a 6-0 run just before the half, as a Wells sank a layup to provide the visitors a 29-28 edge going into halftime.

Wells led all first-half scorers with 10 points, while Grier paced CSU with six points during the first 20 minutes.

The Bulldogs opened up a six-point lead shortly after halftime, as Wells made it 38-32 with a layup at the 16:40 mark. Warren nailed a three-pointer to spark a 6-0 burst, as Mitchell capitalized on an old-fashioned three point play to tie the game at 38-38 with 15:19 left.

The visitors took their last lead of the game at 43-42 on a three by Dahn. Warren answered with a trey of his own, giving CSU a 45-43 lead. Citadel leveled the score at 45-45 on a layup by Bryan Streeter, after which the Buccaneers staged yet another 6-0 run, with Sheldon Strickland scoring with 9:05 left.

The Bulldogs inched closer, thanks to a three by Dahn, and a Cosmo Morabi layup cinched the score at 54-54 as 6:19 appeared on the game clock.

The Buccaneers will return to action Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m., as they play host to Montreat College. Citadel next take on James Madison Saturday, Nov. 20 at McAlister Field House.

Coach Radebaugh Postgame Interview

Kenny Mitchell Postgame Interview

Video Highlights

Postgame Quotes (Article)