CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern uses a massive second half to claim back-to-back conference wins with a 77-70 decision over USC Upstate. The Bucs outscored the Spartans by a 48-31 score and were able to hold the visitors scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the second.
 
The Buccaneers tallied the first bucket of the night, but the Spartans tied it up on their first trip down the floor and quickly took the lead. The Spartans used an early 7-0 lead to bump their advantage to 16-7 and the Bucs were unable to draw within a single possession for the rest of the half.
 
The Spartans led 39-29 at the break and shot 15-24 (62.5%) from the floor to go with 4-6 from deep in the period, knocking down almost any shot they wanted. Charleston Southern were led by DJ Patrick Taje' Kelly in the first half as they combined for 7-9 from the floor while the team went 8-24.
 
At the start of the second half, the teams started to trade buckets, with each shooting at a high level. After the first media timeout, CSU started to truly cut into the victors' lead and clamped down on the defensive end. They held Upstate scoreless for nearly seven minutes from the 12 to five-minute marks and were able to take the lead back for the first after nearly 30 minutes of trailing.
 
The go-ahead bucket for the Buccaneers from the hands of DJ Patrick as he drilled his sixth three-pointer of the night. RJ Johnson got his make from deep on the following possession and the Bucs continued to pour it on and have a 16-0 scoring run to have a lead of 61-52 heading into the final six minutes of play.
 
Down the stretch, Charleston Southern was able to hold on down the stretch with another stellar night from the free-throw line. The Buccaneers never let the Spartans back within a single possession for the rest of the night as they sealed the victory.
 
Taje' Kelly and A'lahn Sumler tied for the team-high in scoring as they each finished with 20 while DJ Patrick was right behind with 18. All players who saw action during the game were able to score with Johnson adding nine and Reginald Duhart Jr. having six.
 
Kelly notched his 7^th double-double of the season as he pulled down ten rebounds as well. Duhart also had a great night in the category pulling down eight. As a team, CSU outrebounded USC Upstate with a 31-22 advantage and the Bucs pulled down ten on the offensive glass. Johnson recorded eight assists on the night, the most he has had in his Charleston Southern career, and it tied his career-high in the category.
 
Charleston Southern will be off on Wednesday as that serves as their open date in the league schedule for the first half of conference play. They will return to the court on Saturday, January 20^th with a trip to High Point on deck. The Panthers are one of just two remaining unbeatens in the Big South as they sit at 3-0 in league play.