Men's Basketball

Martin and Bucs Manhandle Campbell

Box Score Box score

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Kelvin Martin tallied 23 points and eight rebounds to spur the Charleston Southern men's basketball team to a convincing 91-73 win over Campbell at the Buc Dome on Thursday.

The senior forward threw down several highlight reel dunks in the process as the Bucs led by as many as 22 and dominated a Fighting Camels team that entered the night tied for first place in the Big South.

CSU (10-5, 4-1) blew a four-point halftime advantage wide open by shooting 59 percent in the second stanza, including 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range en route to matching a season-high with 13 total treys. Juniors Mathiang Muo (14 points) and Jeremy Sexton (15 points) were instrumental in the three-point barrage, sailing home a combined seven shots from deep.

Sophomore Sheldon Strickland once again gave the Bucs a lift as well, hitting for all 10 of his markers in the first half as CSU enjoyed a 40-23 final margin in bench points.

Campbell (9-7, 3-1) received a double-double from forward Eric Griffin (23 points, 11 rebounds), but was held to a 2-of-15 mark from downtown in its first league loss of the year.

Muo drilled two consecutive threes out of the break to trigger CSU in the second half, but a Rico Ferguson three-point play still had Campbell within 56-50 with 15:13 remaining. That's when Martin helped the Bucs take over the contest.

Following a layup off an offensive rebound by Muo, Martin swatted a Ferguson drive to trigger a fast break. The ball then ended up in the hands of freshman point guard Saah Nimley, who left behind a pass to the trailing Martin for an authoritative two-handed dunk.

Several possessions later, with the Bucs up 65-54, Martin collected one of his three steals and raced the other way for another jam, staking CSU to a 13-point lead at the 10:46 mark.

Campbell would never draw within single digits the rest of the way, as CSU stretched the advantage to as many as 22 on a Sexton drive with 6:13 left.

The duo of Muo and Martin also helped the Bucs get off on the right foot in the opening twenty minutes of action. Muo netted a three-pointer for a 5-2 start, and then found Martin cutting baseline for a slam. Nimley then connected on a triple several trips later, staking CSU to a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into play.

Martin recorded 12 of his season-high tying 23 before halftime as CSU led for the majority of the period, until Campbell took its first and only advantage of the night on a Griffin turn-around jumper 1:43 before halftime.

The Bucs answered and set the tone for the second half, however, engineering a 7-2 spurt to surge back in front as Harper swished a three, and Martin powered for a pair of scores inside

CSU hits the hardwood again on Saturday against defending Big South regular season champion and rival Coastal Carolina. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 at the Buc Dome.

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