CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern men's basketball team pulled away from High Point for a 77-69 victory Friday, Dec. 31 at CSU Field House. Jamarco Warren scored 24 points for the second game in a row, including 19 in the second half, helping lead CSU to its first Big South win of the season.

CSU evens its record at 7-7 overall, and the Bucs are now 1-1 in conference play. High Point falls to 5-6, suffering its first loss in Big South play and falling to 2-1 in conference games.

A 16-4 run by CSU, sparked by 10 straight points by Warren, aided the Bucs in building a 63-47 advantage midway through the second half. High Point drew to within nine points late, but never led after the first minute of the game.

The Bucs shot 49.1 percent from the field for the game and connected on 21 of 29 foul shots. High Point made 43.1 percent of its field goals and went 15-for-25 from the line.

Warren notched his second straight 24-point game, shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 7-for-9 on foul shots. He scored 19 of those points in the second half.

Kelvin Martin earned his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high-tying 15 rebounds. Sheldon Strickland chipped in with 13 points.

For High Point, Shay Shine led four players in double-figures with 17 points. Xavier Martin had 15, Corey Law added 14 and Tehran Cox posted 11.

Defense ruled in the early going, as a layup by Kelvin Martin provided the first change to the scoreboard over two minutes into the game. Following a brief 4-0 High Point run gave the Panthers their only lead, Warren sank a three in transition for a 5-4 Buccaneer advantage. He added a floater to make it 8-4 with 15:05 remaining. Nick Barbour and Strickland traded jumpers, and CSU led 10-6 at the 12:00 mark.

Following a Panther free throw, Jeremy Sexton added a basket to build the edge to 12-7. Kelvin Martin sent in a resounding dunk at 10:27, getting fouled in the act. His resulting free throw was true, good for a 15-7 lead. The teams swapped field goals over the next few minutes, as Strickland scored five points on a layup and a rainbow triple, giving CSU a 20-12 lead. Justin Cheek responded with a three-pointer to slice the deficit to six at 20-14, sparking a 6-0 skein for High Point.

CSU received two points each from Johathan Brooks, Kelvin Martin, Troy Pierce and Strickland during an ensuing 8-0 surge, leaving the score 28-18. Baskets from Law, Pierce and Cox brought HPU to within six, 29-23, with 2:28 before halftime. Both teams played evenly over the remainder of the first half, and Cox three made the halftime score 35-31.

Charleston Southern and High Point shot an identical 11-for-24 from the field in the first half. The Bucs went 11-of-14 from the foul line to just 6-for-11 by the Panthers, providing the early difference. Kelvin Martin led all first-half scorers with 10 points, while Shine had nine to lead HPU over the first 20 minutes.

Holding a 35-31 lead at halftime, Strickland sank a jumper for the first points of the second half. He then went coast-to-coast for a layup, extending the lead to eight at 39-31. Law and Barbour combined for a 9-4 run, and HPU trailed 43-40 with 15:26 to go.

The Buccaneers earned tough points on the inside, with Brooks and Martin connecting on layups, expanding the advantage to six at 49-43 as 11:56 shown on the clock. Warren then heated up, scoring 10 straight points during a 12-2 run, nailing a pair of threes and two layups for a 59-45 edge. A Brooks bank shot and two Warren free throws around extended the lead to 16 as part of a 20-7 rally, leaving the count at 63-47 with 8:02 to go on the game clock.

High Point then switched to a full-court pressure defense, speeding up the game while leading to fast-break opportunities for both teams. Xavier Martin cashed in a triple to cap an 11-5 run, bringing the score to 68-58. Zimmy Nwogbo and Brooks scored transition baskets during the stretch and CSU led 70-58 at 3:56 after a Brooks jumper.

The Panthers continued to chip away at the deficit, but only got to within nine at 73-64 with a minute left. CSU converted free throws to ice the game, 77-69.

The Bucs will next take the court Sunday, Jan. 2, playing host to Radford at 4:30 p.m. in a Big South contest. High Point plays at Coastal Carolina Sunday at 2 p.m. in Conway, S.C.

CSU vs. High Point Highlights