Box Score
RADFORD, Va. – Charleston Southern met Radford on Friday looking to keep its Big South regular season title hopes alive and well. The Bucs left the Dedmon Center with a critical road victory and a share of first place. Saah Nimley tallied a career-high 39 points and CSU made timely plays throughout the second half to knock off Radford, 79-71, and end the Highlanders' eight-game winning streak. CSU is one of seven teams currently tied atop the Big South standings.
CSU (14-9, 8-4 Big South) bounced back in a big way from an ugly loss at Winthrop on Monday night, and Nimley's big effort led the way. Nimley scored ten straight first half points to spark the Bucs from a sluggish offensive start, and recorded 23 of his 39 in the second half to spur CSU back from a four-point halftime deficit. He hit 15-of-16 attempts at the free-throw line – all in the second half – and added eight assists while logging all 40 minutes.
Radford (17-8, 8-4 Big South) was led by 18 points from Javonte Green and 17 from Cameron Jones. Jones hit his first six shots from the floor and capped a 7-0 run with a layup to give Radford a 51-50 lead at the 10:10 mark. Cedrick Bowen pulled down a huge offensive rebound and threw down a two-handed dunk on CSU's next possession, though, and the Bucs would never relinquish the lead.
Nimley, Bowen and Will Saunders delivered clutch baskets throughout the second half as CSU maintained a one to two possession advantage for the final ten minutes of the night. CSU also held Radford to 42 percent shooting in the second half, and just a 5-for-25 effort from three overall.
"That was a big-time effort by our guys and a total team effort," CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh said after the Bucs' fourth straight win at Radford. "Saah had an unbelievable night and is just a special player. The most impressive thing was his efficiency in that he did it on 18 shots."
"Our guys all made plays and contributed to a good road win over a really good team," Radebaugh continued. "Cedrick and Will and Arlon made some important shots in the second half, and overall we were much better defensively after halftime. We talked about how it was an important game for us to stay in the hunt and the guys came through with a really quality showing."
Radford held a 36-32 halftime advantage and led by six following a Brandon Holcomb dunk 24 seconds into the second half. CSU then rattled off a 16-2 run to seize a 48-40 edge. Nimley pumped in eight of those markers, and connected on two of his six triples to jolt the Bucs. Saunders connected on back-to-back threes in a span of 34 seconds – the latter off a steal and feed from Nimley – to put CSU on top, 45-40. Nimley ended the key stretch with a long trey from in front of the Bucs' bench.
The Highlanders answered back with 11 of the next 13 points to take their final lead of the contest. Jones drained a three, and drove inside for two to cap the surge and put Radford in front at the halfway mark of the second half.
Bowen keyed CSU's methodical answer with six of his 12 points over the ensuing 3:10 of the game. He fought for an offensive rebound and stuffed the put back to push CSU ahead for good with 9:45 remaining. Bowen contributed two free throws and a hook shot in the paint to increase the Bucs' advantage to 58-55 with 6:34 left.
Radford closed to within a point two more times, but Nimley swished four straight free throws and soared to the rim for an old-fashioned three-point play to go over the 30-point mark and give the Bucs a two-score advantage. Nimley and Bowen combined on an alley-oop to send the lead to 71-64 with 1:30 left.
Nimley added six more free throws in the final minute to surpass the 37-point high he set on January 24 against Gardner-Webb. He has scored over 30 points in five Big South games, and is averaging 25.8 points per game in conference play.
Defense, on both sides, dictated a slow pace of play early in the first half. Nimley and Jones heated up from downtown to change that quickly.
Nimley ripped off ten points in just 1:34 of game-time to give CSU a 15-13 lead. He drove the lane for a pair of buckets before stepping out to the three-point line for the last six points of the personal 10-0 run. Jones came back with a driving score and sailed through a three from in front of the Radford bench to give the Highlanders the advantage for the rest of the half.
Saunders finished with 11 points for CSU and drilled 3-of-4 tries from beyond the arc. He and Nimley, who entered play 12th and 11th nationally in made threes per game, combined to go 9-of-15 from distance. CSU made 10-of-17 from three as a team, and is now 8-1 this year when sinking ten or more treys.
CSU returns home on Wednesday to host rival and defending Big South Tournament Champion, Coastal Carolina. Tipoff at the Buc Dome is slated for 7:30 p.m.
