CHARLESTON, S.C. – Stegeman Coliseum would be the stage for Charleston Southern's 14th men's basketball contest of the 2024-25 season. After playing in a very close and competitive game against LSU back in November, the Bucs looked to bring a similar level of energy and physicality on the road against another SEC opponent.
A player who traditionally plays exceptionally well against high-major opposition is one Taje' Kelly. Kelly, returning back to his home state of Georgia, was poised to execute the CSU gameplan and produce at a high rate, and that he did. The Atlanta, GA native recorded 29 points, shot 3/7 from downtown, and hauled in 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year.
With injuries occurring all throughout the roster, CSU once again played a limited squad. Three Buccaneers, RJ Johnson, Taje' Kelly, and Lamar Oden Jr., did not touch the bench once as they all competed for 40 minutes a piece.
There were several moments in the ball game where many Georgia fans had to watch the action more intensely than anticipated. With a little over five minutes remaining in the first half, CSU led the Bulldogs 24-23 until a 14-2 run by the Peach State playmakers would send the Bucs to the halftime locker room down 11 (37-26).
The contest would never get out of hand, but Charleston Southern would never take the lead back from UGA Head Coach Mike White's ball club. In a post-game press conference, Coach White would applaud a few Buccaneer players and the blue and gold unit as a whole,
"(Taje') Kelly is a very, very difficult matchup and he played his butt off. I thought (RJ Johnson) was really good with his decisions. We tried to pressure (Johnson) the entire game, and he continued to be really solid. Credit Charleston Southern… their physicality level was similar to the power teams that we have played to this point…"
Georgia would eventually take the win, 81-65, leaving Charleston Southern with only one more opponent between them and the Big South gauntlet.
That last non-conference matchup will be played on Dec. 28 in the beloved Buc Dome as CSU hosts neighboring Columbia International.
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