OXFORD, Miss. – Charleston Southern senior Cedrick Bowen threw down the biggest dunk in the 50-year history of CSU Basketball to lift the Bucs to a wild 66-65 overtime win at Ole Miss on Friday night. Bowen's dunk came off a Saah Nimley miss with one-tenth of a second left in the extra session, and stood following a replay.

Bowen's fourth dunk of the game allowed CSU (1-0) to prevail over a power conference opponent for just the second time in school history. CSU defeated South Carolina, 85-81, for its only other such victory on December 28, 1996.

Trailing 65-64 with 8.2 seconds remaining, Charleston Southern gained possession off an Ole Miss turnover. Nimley advanced the ball up the floor and used a screen from Bowen at the top of the key to get in the lane for a running left-handed scoop shot. The shot hit off the back rim and into the hands of Bowen, who thundered it down just before the final horn. A wild celebration ensued underneath the basket as the officials upheld the field goal on replay.

"Without question, it's the biggest and my favorite dunk I've ever had," said Bowen after being mobbed by his teammates. "I just crashed the boards like Coach Rade and Coach Smith preach. I wasn't even sure I had dunked it in time, or that it was the game-winner because if you saw I just kind of looked toward the bench. It was crazy and we're just so happy to get a win like this after being so close (against power conference teams) the last three years."

CSU led by 12 points at halftime and was in front for most of the game, but saw Ole Miss (0-1) rally to force overtime on Stefan Moody's driving bank shot with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. The Bucs held a three-point lead in the extra session before the Rebels surged ahead on a LaDarius White three-pointer with 1:05 left. The score would stand there until Bowen's slam at the buzzer.

CSU senior Arlon Harper led all scorers with 17 points and delivered big shots throughout the second half to keep the Bucs in front after Ole Miss rallied from a 29-17 halftime deficit. Fellow senior Will Saunders tallied all 12 of his points after halftime and buried back-to-back threes to jumpstart a crucial 8-0 spurt that gave CSU a 40-32 lead. Bowen added 12 points, capped off by two of the biggest in school history.

The victory was Barclay Radebaugh's 121^st as Charleston Southern head coach, tying him with Gary Edwards as the program's all-time winningest coach. Radebaugh was proud of a gutsy effort that saw CSU stifle Ole Miss defensively and out-rebound the bigger Rebels.

"We showed a lot of resilience and that's what I'm most proud of," Radebaugh said. "All fall we've preached finish, finish, every day is game seven. Our guys didn't fold. They didn't fold physically or emotionally and they were able to produce. We spent a lot of time at the defensive end (in preseason practice) and it really paid off. To come in and hold Ole Miss to 30 percent from the floor and out-rebound them with the type of size that they have, it was quite an accomplishment."

CSU held Ole Miss to 5-of-28 shooting in the first half and forced 11 turnovers to build a 12-point advantage. The Bucs limited the Rebels to 30 percent shooting overall, and out-rebounded the Rebels 54-50, including 19-16 on the offensive glass. Nimley, at 5-8, and junior Aaron Wheeler led the spirited rebounding effort with ten apiece.

Ole Miss was paced by 14 points from junior guard Martavious Newby and 11 points from senior forward M.J. Rhett, but could never generate a rhythm against CSU's zone defense. CSU held Preseason All-SEC guard Jarvis Summers in check, as he scored only eight points on 3-of-13 shooting before fouling out late in regulation.

Despite struggling offensively itself (33% FG, 8-35 3-PT FG, 17 turnovers), CSU came up with enough timely stops, buckets and rebounds to pull out the win. The triumph was especially satisfying for a group that has been on the verge of upsetting Baylor, Arizona and Kansas State, among others, in past seasons.

"It really means a lot to our seniors that have been here to get this win and I'm really happy for them," Radebaugh said. "The list goes on and on, some of the games we've been right there in with a chance late. We didn't play well at times and missed a lot of free throws. There were a lot of things we could have done better and need to do better and we know that, but our guys competed hard and competed to the end and it paid off."

Ole Miss dug itself out of a 12-point halftime hole with a 15-3 run to tie the contest at 32-32 on Summers' layup with 14:52 left. Saunders halted the momentum quickly, swishing home a pair of treys after going 0-for-5 from long distance in the opening half. He hit his first from in front of the Bucs' bench, and then connected on a second moments later off a pick-and-pop with Nimley. Bowen chipped in a layup off a pass from Nimley on the ensuing possession, completing an 8-0 run that took up just 1:04 of game time.

The Rebels would answer to draw within 44-43 on a White triple, only to see Harper respond with five straight points. Harper connected on a pull-up from the left elbow on one trip, and drilled a three 35 seconds later to stake CSU to a 49-43 advantage at the 8:19 mark.

Wheeler contributed a clutch tip-in during the stretch run of regulation, and Harper connected on perhaps his toughest shot of the night – a contested straight-on three with the shot clock dwindling – to put CSU in front, 54-50, with 3:57 remaining.

The Bucs' struggles at the free-throw line gave Ole Miss a chance to pull out the victory despite being outplayed. CSU made 14-of-27 at the line, and 4-of-10 in overtime, but overcame the issue to knock off an Ole Miss program that has won 20 or more games seven of the past eight seasons.

A game that saw both teams struggle to score started that way, as a Nimley free throw provided the only point of the opening 1:52 of play. Harper's first personal 5-0 run of the game gave CSU an early 10-5 lead, and the Bucs built the cushion to 20-8 courtesy of a 10-0 spurt. CSU held Ole Miss scoreless for 6:18 of game time during that juncture, with threes by freshman Danny Upchurch and Nimley highlighting the surge.

Upchurch played extensively in his collegiate debut, particularly in the first half, finishing with five points and a steal. It was another freshman, Wesley Johnson, that sparked CSU on a 9-2 run to close the first half. Johnson dropped in a pretty jump hook shot over the 6-9 Dwight Coleby, and added a layup and two free throws to send the Bucs into the halftime locker room up 29-17.

CSU hosts Erskine on Monday night in its home opener. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.