CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to draw within one with 2:03 remaining, but Radford held on for an 84-77 win at the Buc Dome on Wednesday night.

CSU (12-8, 6-3 Big South) trailed almost the entire game and by double digits for most of the way before staging an 8-0 run in a span of just 52 seconds. Saah Nimley hit two free throws and drained a three-pointer, and Arlon Harper buried a corner trey following a Radford turnover to cap the spurt. Radford's (15-7, 6-3 Big South) R.J. Price hit a deep three with the shot clock dwindling on the Highlanders next possession, though, to help seal the victory.

Radford set the tone from the start in a matchup of the Big South's hottest teams. The Highlanders have now won six straight games after a difficult 0-3 start to conference play. Javonte Green scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way, while Price added 20, including perhaps the biggest three of the contest. YaYa Anderson and Cameron Jones reached double figures as well, as Radford shot 55 percent in the first half and 52 percent overall while sinking 10-of-22 three-point tries.

Nimley led CSU with 26 points and connected on a couple of late threes to spur the comeback bid. Aaron Wheeler recorded his first career double-double, with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Harper and Will Saunders scored 13 apiece, but the Bucs struggled offensively for much of the night. CSU shot only 37 percent from the floor and could not take full advantage of 24 offensive rebounds, missing several shots in the paint throughout.

CSU and Radford now sit in a five-way tie for second place in a jumbled Big South Conference race. High Point is alone in first at the halfway mark of league play.

"Radford came in as the hungrier team and they were the better team tonight," CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh said. "They shared the ball really well offensively, and set the tone at the start. We, for whatever reason, were not ready to play or emotionally engaged at the outset, and that's one me. We fought back the last ten minutes and gave ourselves a chance but we need to be ready to go in all three phases – physically, emotionally and intellectually every night. We'll be ready to go on Saturday."

CSU took an early 8-4 lead thanks to a Cedrick Bowen dunk and a Nimley drive, but Radford countered with ten straight points to move in front for good. Anderson and Jones each connected on threes during the juncture. Both added second triples moments later as Radford built a 22-10 advantage. The Highlanders knocked down 7-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.

Threes for Price and Anderson gave Radford a 38-24 lead, its largest of the opening stanza, with 6:23 left until halftime. The Bucs responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Paul Gombwer bank shot in the lane. Radford took a ten-point lead into intermission and stretched that out to 16 less than four minutes into the second half.

A pair of free throws by Green gave Radford its largest edge, 63-46, at the 12:48 mark. CSU began to steadily chip away at the deficit as another capacity Buc Dome crowd made its presence felt. Several defensive stops helped key the surge, and Saunders swished through a three off a drive-and-kick by Nimley to bring the deficit inside of ten, 68-61, with 5:44 remaining.

Radford took a 74-65 lead into the final media timeout, thanks to a Kyle Noreen tip-in of a Green air ball. CSU then reeled off a quick eight points to suddenly make it a one-point game. Price hit nothing but net on a long three over Nimley, however, and Radford made seven of its final eight free throws to hang on.

CSU plays six of its final nine regular season games on the road. The Bucs start a three-game road swing on Saturday at Liberty. Tipoff in Lynchburg, Va. is set for 7 p.m.