CONWAY, S.C. – Charleston Southern roared back from a 15-point first half deficit to defeat Campbell, 81-71, in the opening round of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Basketball Championships at the HTC Center on Wednesday.

A Bucs team that has faced its share of adversity this season overcame it to advance to Friday's quarterfinals against South Division champion Coastal Carolina. CSU (13-17) trailed 39-24 with 2:30 remaining in the first half and by 11 early in the second, but rallied behind Arlon Harper and Will Saunders.

Harper tallied 20 points to lead the way, while Saunders tallied 13 of his 18 after halftime to spur the Bucs' second half charge. Sheldon Strickland and Matt Kennedy chipped in 14 and 13 respectively, as the seniors delivered clutch baskets throughout the second half. The victory was CSU's first of the season when trailing at halftime. They had been 0-12 in such contests.

Strickland scored five straight points to give the Bucs the lead for good with 7:35 remaining. He buried a step back three-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 64-64, before pushing CSU in front with a pair of free throws. Paul Gombwer provided the exclamation point to the win with a three-point play late, capping off a 7-point, 13-rebound effort that paced the Bucs to a 41-26 advantage on the glass.

Campbell (12-20) built its advantage on the strength of gaudy three-point shooting. The Fighting Camels connected on 8-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, and 10 of their first 14 tries overall. The Bucs responded defensively down the stretch, though, holding Campbell without a field goal over the final 6:28.

"I thought it was a tale of two halves and a tale of two different teams," CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh said after the Bucs held Campbell to 35 percent shooting in the second half. "In the second half, you saw an emotionally engaged team, a physically engaged team and most importantly a mentally engaged team that made up their mind at halftime that they wanted to win this game."

"I thought we were drastically different in the second half, particularly on the defensive end," Radebaugh continued. "Most of that was a great effort by our kids. I'm really happy for our guys and really respect their effort. We're rounding into a good team. It's taken us a while to learn to play without Saah (Nimley) and we're getting there."

CSU engineered a 9-3 mini-run to end the first half and cut Campbell's halftime lead to 42-33. Campbell still enjoyed a 48-37 advantage at the 17:49 mark, however, thanks to one of Leek Leek's three treys. That's when CSU started to make its way back into the game, as Saunders and Kennedy drilled back-to-back threes to bring the Bucs within five. Following two free throws by Campbell's Darius Leonard, Saunders sailed through another triple to narrow the deficit to 50-46.

Campbell pushed its edge back to six at 58-52 on a Reco McCarter drive to the hoop with 11:15 remaining, but Saunders answered with yet another three 14 seconds later to whittle the deficit back to three. After Campbell's Kyre Hamer connected on a corner three of his own to put the Fighting Camels on top, 61-55, with 10:14 left, CSU took over the game with a 13-3 run.

Harper hit a free throw to start the critical juncture, and Strickland followed with the first of two clutch threes to bring CSU within 61-59. Hamer made a free throw to stem some of CSU's momentum, before Saunders stepped off the three-point line and drove the lane for an acrobatic finish in traffic. D.J. Mason powered his way inside for two on Campbell's next possession, but Strickland swished through another three to even the tally at 64-64. Strickland showcased grit and toughness while playing all 40 minutes, scoring 10 of his 14 points following intermission, adding six rebounds and four assists.

Strickland knocked down two free throws to give CSU the lead for good, before Kennedy finished off the spurt with a pull-up jumper from the baseline. Moyer's trey following those free throws would be Campbell's final basket of the night, as the Bucs frustrated the Fighting Camels with an active man-to-man defense over the last six minutes.

CSU scored five straight points at the free throw line to grab a 75-69 lead after Campbell had drawn within a point on two free throws. Gombwer capped off the spirited second half showing with 32 seconds left, converting a layup while being fouled and hitting the ensuing free throw for a three-point play to delight the Bucs' contingent of fans.

"We had a sense of urgency," Harper said. "Our backs were against the wall and I think that's when we're at our best. We had to put together a couple of stops and if we didn't we're packing our bags and going home. Each guy took it personal. We stuck together as a team, competed and finally ran them off the line from three to get a couple stops."

Charleston Southern, the No. 5 seed in the South Division, now meets No. 1 South seed Coastal Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. CSU nearly knocked off Coastal this past Saturday in Conway, falling 63-61. The Bucs fought back from a late ten-point deficit to take a one-point lead with 49 seconds remaining on a Matt Kennedy three in that contest. CSU beat Coastal, 70-58, to open Big South play at the Buc Dome on January 8.

"We have a really good Coastal team on Friday that we have a tremendous amount of respect for," Radebaugh said. "They'll be ready to play. I think the gravity of it, the magnitude of it, these guys like the big stage. We've played some of our best games this season on the biggest stages and we'll be ready to go Friday and we know Coastal will too. It should be a great game."