CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern's final opportunity to send the back-and-forth game between the Buccaneers and the Highlanders fell short at the buzzer as the Bucs fell at home to visiting Radford on Saturday afternoon, 60-57.

Trailing by 10 with 4:32 remaining, the Buccaneers rattled off an 8-1 run to bring the game all the way back to within three points on a three-pointer by Alyssa Mann, putting the score at 55-52 with 3:01 remaining. The Highlanders lead crept back up to six points as Foy and Paris Brower connected on three free throws over the following two minutes to put the score at 58-52 with 52 ticks remaining.

Fowler and Breshara Gordon swapped free throws to keep the margin the same at 60-54 with 24 seconds remaining before Erin Bratcher connected on a triple from deep in the left corner to cut the deficit back down to three points with 60-57 remaining.

Radford beat the CSU full-court pressure on the ensuing in-bounds pass, giving Breshara Gordon the opportunity to put the game away from the charity stripe, but both her attempts missed with Tatum Jarvis grabbing the defensive rebound and giving CSU one final opportunity. Fowler found Jarvis on the right wing, but Gordon made up for her free throw miscues with the block at the buzzer, pushing the CSU final attempt wide and ending the game with the Highlanders holding on for the 60-57 victory.

Charleston Southern fell to 8-14, 4-9 overall with the loss to Radford, while the Highlanders earned the season split with the Bucs with the win in improving to 5-17, 3-10 in Big South Conference play.

Anicia Dotson led three Buccaneers in double-digits on the afternoon with 13 points and completed her fourth double-double of the season with a career-high 14 rebounds in the contest as CSU held the 51-37 rebounding edge in the game. Bratcher added 13 points and three three-pointers in the contest, while Mann had 12 points in the loss for CSU.

Ayana Avery led four Highlanders in double-digits on the afternoon with 18 points as Radford shot 47.6 percent as a team in the contest in the win. Gordon added 15 points, while Foy had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win. Kiera McIvor added 10 points to round out the Radford leading scorers.

CSU forwards Monique Maximilien and Anicia Dotson sparked the Bucs to a quick start. Maximilien grabbed an offensive rebound on the game's opening possession, eventually leading to a DJ Fowler three-pointer from the right wing. Fowler's trey was the first of three straight for CSU, as Dotson added one from each wing to stake the Bucs to a 9-3 lead.

The advantage would swell to 13-5 by the first media timeout. Dotson assisted the last two field goals of the excellent opening stretch that also saw the Bucs draw two charges. She found Maximilien for a layup with a nice high-low feed, and hit a cutting Alyssa Mann for a baseline runner and an eight-point lead.

Bratcher continued an active start on the defensive end of the floor for CSU with a steal and lay in to make the score 15-7. The Bucs' lead would eventually reach double figures, 21-11, at the 9:36 mark of the first half, as freshman Tatum Jarvis came off the bench to bury a three.

Radford responded, though, rattling off a 14-3 run to take its first lead of the game. Ayana Avery connected on a three to start the Highlanders' charged, and added a runner in the lane to pull Radford within three points. A Breshara Gordon fast break layup capped a stretch of nine straight Radford points, before Mann drilled a three to push CSU's lead back to four. Radford would tally the next five to move in front however, as Aisha Foy knocked down a trey and Gordon hit a mid-range jumper.

CSU answered back with the final six points of the stanza to take momentum and a 30-25 advantage into halftime. Mann sailed through an elbow jumper and Dotson came up with a steal on Radford's next possession, leading to a Fowler layup. CSU was able to get a defensive stop on Radford's final trip of the half, and Fowler raced end-to-end and banked in a runner to beat the buzzer and send the Bucs into intermission up by five.

Radford scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to tie the score at 32 apiece on an Avery step back three with 17:39 remaining. Dotson carried the Bucs early in the second half, scoring seven of their first nine points of the period. She knocked down a contested three from the right wing following Avery's trey to put CSU back in front.

The second half was back and forth in nature, as the lead would change hands several times over the ensuing minutes. Foy gave the Highlanders the lead back with a jumper and a layup in transition, only to see Dotson put in an acrobatic put back while falling to the floor to push the Bucs into the lead again. Dotson secured a steal on Radford's next possession, leading to a Mann corner jumper and a 39-36 CSU lead at the 15:08 mark.

CSU would go scoreless over the next 5:59 of the half, as Radford's defense frustrated the Bucs. Radford scored only nine points during the stretch, but it was enough to give the Highlanders a 45-39 edge with 9:35 remaining. Gordon jumpstarted the surge with an old-fashioned three-point play to move Radford in front, 40-39. Foy added three free throws during the stretch, and Avery lofted home a runner in the lane as the Highlanders advanced their margin to six.

Bratcher ended the run with a stick back and Maximilien hit a free throw to pull the Bucs back within three, but the Highlanders ran off nine of the next eleven points to take a 54-44 lead with 4:32 left. Avery swished a three from the corner and Radford hit four three throws, with CSU's only basket during the juncture coming on an Erin LaVenice layup, setting up the wild scramble over the final four minutes.

CSU heads back on the road next weekend as the Bucs trek to Virginia to take on Longwood and Liberty. Tipoff against Longwood is set for 7 p.m. Thursday night in Farmville, Va.