CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern men's basketball would travel to Rock Hill, South Carolina Wednesday evening to play the Eagles of Winthrop University.
The matchup at the forefront of Big South basketball would include Taje' Kelly, Charleston Southern's superstar senior who leads the conference in points and rebounds per game, and Kelton Talford, Winthrop's 6'7" forward who is the reigning conference player of the week.
CSU's gameplan execution on Talford would be so effective that in his 8 minutes of action (injury) he would only attempt two field goals. Taje' Kelly on the opposite hand, would post another monster double-double stat line with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
The game would be ultra-competitive from tip-off to the final, triple overtime, buzzer. The lead would never grow larger than 5 points, and the contest would feature 19 lead changes.
Late in half number two, Daylen Berry pulled down a clutch offensive rebound and drew a foul. Making both free throws, Berry would put the Bucs up 65-63 with roughly two minutes remaining in regulation. On the very next possession, offensive rebounds by both Taje' Kelly and Lamar Oden Jr. would extend the play that would eventually result in a fifth, and final, foul by Winthrop's KJ Doucet. The double-bonus free throws from Doucet's final foul, would be converted by Oden Jr., putting the Bucs up 69-67 with just over a minute to go. Moments later, after two made free-throws by Taje' Kelly, Winthrop's Bryce Baker knocked down a three-ball from the top of the key with 34.5 seconds remaining to tie the contest up at 71-71. With the final seconds ticking away, a deep two-point shot attempt by the reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, Paul Jones III, would barely miss, sending the contest to its first overtime.
On the first play of overtime, Winthrop's Kasen Harrison would draw a foul on Reis Jones, resulting in Jones being the first Buc to foul out of the contest. An RJ Johnson layup, followed by a Taje' Kelly putback tip in on the next possession, would put the Bucs up 75-72 with 4:08 left in the first overtime period. Buckets and free throws would be traded by both squads, resulting in a 78-78 scoreboard with a little over a minute left in OT. With 1:05 remaining, a charge call on Taje' Kelly would award him his fifth foul, whittling the Bucs available roster to six players. A pair of free-throws by Nick Johnson would put the Eagles up 80-78 with 37.7 seconds to go. Free throws would be traded again by both teams as the score would be 81-79 in favor of Winthrop with 27 seconds left. An absolutely gritty and clutch take to the rim by RJ Johnson would tie the contest at 81-81 with a minuscule 6.3 seconds remaining. The highlight clip can be viewed on the men's basketball Instagram page @csu_mbball. A Winthrop turnover and full court heave by the Bucs would send the ball game into a second overtime period.
The first made field goal of overtime number two would be a right-wing three by RJ Johnson with 4:15 remaining, giving the Bucs an 84-81 lead. Johnson would score again minutes later regaining a 86-85 lead with just over 2 minutes to go in the period. Daylen Berry would follow that up with a beautiful transition layup with 1:23 left ticking on the clock extending the lead to three (88-85). With 29.2 seconds to go, a blocking foul on Lase Olalere would give the redshirt freshman big man his fifth foul, shortening the Bucs available roster to only five. The final man off the bench, Thompson Camara, would check into the ball game for the first time of the evening with 29.2 seconds remaining in double-overtime. A gorgeous press break by CSU resulting in another RJ Johnson layup, off of a Thompson Camara assist, would give the Bucs a three-point (90-87) lead with 8.3 seconds to go. Unfortunately, a left-wing three pointer by Winthrop's player of the game, Nick Johnson, would tie the ball game up once again, this time with only one second remaining on the clock. A full court shot attempt by Anthony Gause would predictably not connect, forcing the ball game to go into a third overtime.
To no one's surprise, the competitive showcase would continue in overtime number three. Both teams would trade baskets through the third five-minute period, a 98-95 score with two minutes to go in Winthrop's favor being the result. A wild one-legged fade away by Winthrop's Kasen Harrison would grow the Eagle lead to five (100-95) with just over a minute to spare. Two Buccaneer free throws would thin the Winthrop lead to 3, as a missed field goal attempt by the Eagles with 19 seconds left would give CSU an opportunity to close the gap one final time. A three-point attempt by the Bucs would not connect as Winthrop would intentionally foul, not giving CSU another opportunity to tie the game with a deep ball.
Overtime is not familiar territory for Head Coach Saah Nimley's Buccaneers as it's not only the first time this year's squad has played more than a 40-minute ball game, but the first time since Coach Nimley's promotion from his former assistant coaching spot. The Bucs would eventually fall 102-97 to the Eagles in overtime number three, tying the largest lead of the night (5).
RJ Johnson, one of the final five available Bucs, would lead CSU in scoring with 30 points and 4 assists – this marks Johnson's second 30-point performance of the season as he would score the same amount last month at home vs UT-Martin. Second place in the scoring column would be Daylen Berry (23). Berry played the most minutes by an individual player in a single CSU men's basketball game since 2015. Berry played 53 minutes and 18 seconds of the 55 minute contest Wednesday night and would also add 7 rebounds and 3 steals to the CSU defensive effort. Lamar Oden Jr. would nearly secure a double-double of his own as the graduate transfer forward would post an 8-point and 13-rebound showing.
The Buccaneer's ability to draw fouls would keep them in the game as their lineup depth diminished. CSU would shoot a season-high 53 free throws, converting 40 of them.
CSU will head back to their home turf, the Buc Dome, to host the Radford Highlanders this Saturday at 2 PM for their fifth conference competition of the new year.
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