CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern recorded their best rebounding night of the season in a 71-65 defeat to UNC Asheville to close out Saturday's doubleheader. RJ Johnson led the Buccaneers in scoring as he finished with 23 points while the Bulldogs' Player of the Year candidate, Drew Pember, had 30. The weekend also served as the program's Alumni Weekend with Home Telecom serving as the game's presenting sponsor.
 
The Buccaneers were able to get to one of their best starts to a game within conference play this season, going point-for-point with the visitors early. The Bucs did fall behind by nine within the first few minutes, however they did respond at a much more urgent rate than they have been this month, going on a 9-0 scoring run to take their first lead of the game at 17-15 at the ten-minute mark. Asheville created some small separation before the break, taking a 32-28 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, the teams continued to battle, but the Bucs were able to stay close in the contest after gaining a huge advantage on the glass. The Bucs collected 23 offensive rebounds, which is CSU's most since the 2018-2019 season. They were able to turn that into 19 second chance points, 13 coming in the second half with each providing key energy for the team, bench and crowd. In total, they had 51 boards.
 
Arguably, the biggest of the moments came off a putback dunk by Reginald Duhart Jr with 5:03 remaining in the game. A'lahn Sumler missed a floater from the lane, but Duhart skied in for the rim-rocking jam, giving the Buccaneers a 57-56 advantage, their first lead in over 23 minutes of play.
 
Asheville's Pember immediately responded, knocking down back-to-back triples, putting the Bulldogs back on top. Charleston Southern was able to bring it back within a possession multiple times in the closing minutes but were able to put up another quality performance in the effort.
 
Johnson led the Buccaneers' three double-digit scorers with his 23. Taje' Kelly and Sumler each had a dozen on the night. Quentin Bolton Jr. came off the bench, playing in a career-high 28 minutes and posted a career-best in points (9) and rebounds (8) as well. Sumler lead the team in rebounding with nine while Johnson had eight and Kalib Clinton had seven.
 
The team changed hands four times with neither team able to have their leads reach double digits all evening. As a team, CSU finished 38.9% from the floor going 28-72 and 4-19 from deep.
 
Charleston Southern will return to the court on Wednesday night as they will make the long trip to Radford, Virginia to take on the Highlanders (3-4). Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. inside the Dedmon Center in the final contest of the first half of the round robin schedule.