CHARLESTON – Wednesday afternoon, Charleston Southern traveled to Boiling Springs for a New Year's Eve, conference opener against Gardner-Webb. After trailing by as many as 17 in the first-half, the Bucs would defeat the Runnin' Bulldogs, 89-79.

Although just three days prior, CSU made only 10 three-pointers and walked out victorious against a 10-2 Richmond Spiders program, their two made threes in the first-half against Gardner-Webb was far from the amount they needed to keep up. A little over halfway through the period, CSU would find themselves down double-figures (25-14). The GWU-lead would peak at 17 late in the contest's first frame and Head Coach Saah Nimley's Buccaneers would enter the halftime locker room down a noticeable dozen (46-34).

In the halftime locker room, Coach Nimley's message to his team regarding a comeback was passionate yet concise, "You guys are going to have to do this possession by possession." 

Those needed possessions would come early for the Bucs as a 22-4 run to start the second-half would earn CSU the 55-53 lead – a lead they would never relinquish. 20 minutes after an intense halftime regrouping, Charleston Southern would officially start the 2026 conference slate 1-0, as well as earning the 10th win of their 2025-26 campaign.

Notables:

• A'lahn Sumler led the Bucs with 29 points in his first Big South game since March 8th, 2024.

• Luke Williams scored a team-second 16 points in his Big South Conference-debut.

• Sumler and Williams would also knock down 4 three-pointers a piece.

• Brycen Blaine (15) and Jesse Hafemeister (10) would also reach double-figures in their first games as Big South players.

• Hafemeister would post a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.

• Continuing his rim-protecting dominance from last season, Reis Jones would swat 3 shot attempts Wednesday afternoon.

• Charleston Southern's win over Gardner-Webb is the Bucs 10th all-time win over the Runnin' Bulldog-program, as well as their third in a row over the conference foe.

Post-Game Points:

"There's a lot of credit to give Gardner-Webb. They came out with great energy and spirit. Their guys played really well in that first half and beat us to a lot of effort plays. With that being said, I'm really happy with the response our guys had for the final 24 minutes of the game. I thought our defense really woke up in the second half holding them to 30 percent from the field, and once we started hitting shots it allowed us to creep back in and take the lead. Winning on the road is hard, but winning on the road in conference play is harder… a lot of credit to our guys for their response and resolve to walk out of there 1-0."

Up Next:

CSU will host UNC Asheville on Saturday, January 3rd for a 2:00 PM match-up with the Bulldogs, the team that knocked them out of the Big South Tournament ten months prior. The game is set to be broadcast on ESPN+.

To see a full sit-down conversation with Coach Nimley discussing the Bucs' next opponents and previous game recaps, watch the "2025-2026 Nimley Coaches Show" on CSUsports.com, X/Twitter, or YouTube.

For all the most up-to-date coverage involving CSU Men's Basketball, follow us on Instagram and X/Twitter @csu_mbball.