CHARLESTON, S.C. – After defeating Presbyterian earlier in the week, the Charleston Southern men's basketball team traveled north to take on the (#2 in the Big South) UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are led by sophomore guard Jordan Marsh. Marsh is believed by many to be Taje' Kelly's main competition for the Big South Player of the Year award.
Back on January 25th, the two teams squared off in the Buc Dome, and despite losing 61-69, Charleston Southern outscored Asheville 39-31 in the contest's second-half. On the heels of that performance and level of execution, the Bucs walked into Kimmel Arena Saturday afternoon with the intent to knock off the Big South's 2nd-ranked program.
Once the ball was tipped, many members of Buc Nation may have experienced some positive deja vu. Two weeks prior, at home vs Longwood, Lamar Oden Jr. knocked down 3 three-point attempts just four minutes into the ball game. In Asheville on Saturday, he did the same. With 15:56 still on the clock in the first-half, Oden Jr. was responsible for 9 of the Bucs' 13 points, all from long range.
Entering the halftime locker room, CSU only trailed by 2, an impressive feat in comparison to the first matchup when the Bucs were down by 16 at the halfway mark. A reminder by Head Coach Saah Nimley, that was echoed by the injured A'lahn Sumler, was to stop settling for long range shots just because they are available when a drive to the hoop can create a better opportunity. The more aggressive style of offense in half number two served the Bucs fairly well. In half number one they only shot 12 free-throws, in half number two after the locker room adjustment, the Bucs saw themselves at the line 19 times.
Two members of the Buccaneer roster who have not been full-time starters but have been called upon for production and stability all year are Lamar Oden Jr. and Reis Jones. Despite the casual fan reaching for the names of Taje' Kelly, RJ Johnson, and Daylen Berry when being hypothetically asked who makes the plays for Charleston Southern, runs like one made in the second-half of Saturday's contest prove how needed the production from all the available Buccaneers is.
Down two points (48-51) with 11:06 remaining in the contest, a huge dunk by Reis Jones lit a match under the CSU bench. Moments later, a three-point try by Lamar Oden Jr. went through the net, giving the Bucs a two-point lead (56-54). CSU's next basket would once again be a slam by Jones, also off the assist by RJ Johnson, and of course two possessions later, a three-pointer by (you guessed it) Oden Jr. would put the Bucs back up 61-58.
Fast forward to there being six seconds on the clock, UNC Asheville would be leading the Bucs by three (71-74). The Bulldogs planned to foul CSU, not wanting to allow a potentially game-tying three-point shot. This is where the brains of RJ Johnson showed. Right when the ball would be inbounded to Johnson, Asheville's Josh Banks would be close by to foul. Johnson, although being roughly 70-feet from his own basket, would hoist a shot as Banks fouled him, resulting in the violation being labeled a shooting foul. With three seconds remaining, the all-time leader in Buc Basketball free-throw shooting percentage (83.2%) would go to the line with the opportunity to tie the game up at 74. Unfortunately, the 16.8% of the time when RJ Johnson does not convert from the charity stripe would occur Saturday afternoon. The Bucs would fall short to the Bulldogs 72-75, yet they proved to the spectators of Kimmel Arena and the rest of the Big South conference that the Bucs are warm enough to compete with anyone in their league.
Leading the Bucs in both the points and rebounds column Saturday was Taje' Kelly (21 points and 8 rebounds). For the first time in his Buccaneer career, Lamar Oden Jr. scored 20+ points (20). He did so while also pulling in a team-second 6 rebounds. Two other Buccaneers would also score in double-figures, RJ Johnson (12) and Daylen Berry (11), while also being responsible for 5 assists a piece.
The schedule does not get any easier for CSU in their next contest, in fact statistically it gets more difficult, as they will travel to High Point, NC on Wednesday (Feb. 19) to take on the currently #1-ranked Panthers.
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