CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern men's basketball team placed a season-high six players in double figures and held The Citadel Bulldogs scoreless for nearly seven and a half minutes as they downed their cross-town rivals, 88-69, on Wednesday night at McAllister Field House.

Arlon Harper led all players in scoring with 19 points, while Kelvin Martin put up a double-double with 13 points and a career-high tying 17 rebounds. Saah Nimley (15 points, five assists) and Mathiang Muo (16 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) also finished in double figures, as did Sheldon Strickland with eleven points and Paul Gombwer with 12 points. CSU was hot from the field, shooting 54.5 percent and hitting nine shots from beyond the arc on 21 attempts. The Bucs also dominated the Bulldogs in the paint, outscoring them 44-22. Pressure defense induced 15 Citadel turnovers, which CSU was able to convert into 12 fast break points.

The two teams kept things close at the outset, tying the score up five times in the first seven minutes of play. A 3-pointer from the Citadel's Ashton Moore put the Bulldogs ahead, 19-16, but the Buccaneers quickly struck back and took the lead on a layup by Martin. The two teams traded buckets once again, with Moore hitting another from downtown to take the lead once again at 27-24. Moore's trey started a 6-2 run that put the Bulldogs' lead at seven on a free-throw by C.J. Bray with 6:52 to go in the first half. Paul Gombwer powered home a layup while Harper and Muo added 3-pointers as the Bucs embarked on a 17-0 scoring run to close out the half. CSU utilized a pressing, trapping zone defense to hold The Citadel scoreless for the final 5:52 of the first half to enter intermission with a 43-33 lead.

The Citadel crept within six on at 45-39 on sophomore Barry Smith's layup with 17:26 left to play, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would come. CSU answered with an 11-2 run to take control for good, with freshman Cedrick Bowen punctuating the spurt on a layup off a feed from classmate Nimley. The Bucs never let the Bulldogs get closer than twelve, as they connected on 14 of their first 18 attempts of the stanza en route to shooting 61 percent after halftime.

A highlight of the second half came in the closing minute as Martin snared his 17th board of the night to trigger a fast-break with culminated with a Harper three on the other end. Nimley's jumper rounded out the scoring with 57 seconds to go, as the 5-8 point guard continued to show his explosive ability off the dribble after being shaken up on a foul late in the first half.

Gombwer's 12 points set a career-high, as the freshman forward entered double digits for the first time this year. Along with Bowen, Gombwer and company did a solid job of containing The Citadel's Mike Groselle, who entered the contest as the nation's 19th leading rebounder. Groselle finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, but it did not come easy as the Bucs out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 42-34.

Next up for CSU is another intra-city battle with The College of Charleston on Saturday at 6 p.m. at TD Arena. A win would give the Bucs their third city championship under Radebaugh, having swept the Bulldogs and Cougars in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. Bobby Cremins' club has won the last four games of the series.