CHARLESTON, S.C. – Saturday afternoon, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers would walk in to Paul Porter Arena with the opportunity to do something they had never done in program history, sweep the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in a regular season series.
Back on January 2nd, GWU traveled to the Lowcountry to face off against a Buccaneer lineup that has changed a bit since the initial January matchup. In game one, the Bucs would be led by team captain, DJ Patrick. It was Patrick's season debut after missing the entirety of non-conference play with an injury. Patrick finished the ball game with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Right behind Patrick with 18 points of his own was the Bucs' All-Conference guard, RJ Johnson. The fun part about game number two against the Runnin' Bulldogs, neither Patrick nor Johnson would be available to suit up due to injuries.
A Buccaneer who was available in both battles, and who has been available for 25 of CSU's 26 contests, is Mr. Double-Double and three-time Big South Player of the Week, Taje' Kelly. Kelly posted a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double in the January 2nd ball game, and scored more than double that amount in Saturday's face off.
Once the ball was tipped, the Buccaneers did what they have rarely been able to do so far this season, have a hot shooting start. CSU would start the game off with a 14-4 lead, courtesy of a Taje' Kelly layup and four made three-pointers by Daylen Berry, Lamar Oden Jr., and Keenan Wilkins. Gardner-Webb would close the gap through half number one and would eventually take the lead with 3:06 left in the contest's first half. In the final three minutes, a handful of buckets and free throws by Daylen Berry and Taje' Kelly would secure the Bucs' 2-point halftime lead (38-36).
The second-half would scarily resemble the first. After feeding their hot hand in Jamaine Mann who scored a GWU team-high 30 points, the Runnin' Bulldogs would take the 72-70 lead with 2:02 remaining in the game. Head Coach Saah Nimley would award his E.D.I.G.7. (Every Day Is Game 7) chain to a player who had never won the honor before Saturday and who was asked to fill some big shoes in the absence of RJ Johnson, true freshman Keenan Wilkins. A big factor in Coach Nimley's decision could have been inspired by the shot Wilkins made just 22 seconds after Gardner-Webb took the lead. Wilkins' three-ball right in front of the CSU bench would regain the lead (73-72), and the Runnin' Bulldogs would not score another point.
For the first time, the Buccaneers swept the Runnin' Bulldogs. Head Coach Saah Nimley, who has not only been on the CSU staff since 2019 but also played in the uniform from 2011-2015, claimed Saturday's victory as his "best win" as a member of the CSU program due to the Bucs ability to fight for 40 minutes and beat a conference foe who was 11-1 at home before Saturday.
On the stat sheet, several Bucs had impressive days as four would score in double-figures. Taje' Kelly would lead the way with 31 points and 9 rebounds. Daylen Berry would be next with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Lamar Oden Jr. would score double-digits for the sixth time this season as he would post 16 points, shooting 4-6 from beyond the arc. Finally, true freshman guard Keenan Wilkins would score 10 points and snag 4 rebounds.
The Bucs will have a chance to get some hoops revenge as they host Presbyterian this coming Wednesday, a team they lost to (61-71) recently in Clinton.
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