| Game 19: Charleston Southern (9-9, 3-3 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (8-11, 5-1 Big South) |
Charleston Southern hosts one of the hottest teams in the Big South Thursday night in Presbyterian who has gotten off to a 5-1 start in conference play. First-year head coach Quinton Ferrell has returned to his alma mater and quickly picked up where previous bench boss Dustin Kearns left off, leading the Blue Hose to their best start to conference play since joining the league.
The Bucs have taken the last four meetings with Presbyterian sweeping the regular season last season and taking the final two of three in the 2017-18 campaign. Head coach
Barclay Radebaugh has also seen tons of success against the in-state foe with a 12-4 record during his tenure at Charleston Southern with an 8-1 mark inside the Buc Dome.
The quartet of
Phlandrous Fleming Jr.,
Ty Jones,
Nate Louis and
Dontrell Shuler have shined against the Blue Hose all averaging double figures. In the first meeting last season, Louis hit a career-high 6 treys to lead the offense while
Ty Jones has feasted on the Presbyterian defense shooting .676 from the floor in five contests.
CSU concludes their three-game swing on the ESPNU and ESPN3 platforms looking to complete a 3-0 stretch after a pair of runaway victories over Campbell and High Point over the weekend. CSU won their single ESPN3 home game last season over Radford deterring a last-second shot for a thrilling 53-52 home win. That win began a five-game home win streak to end the 2018-19 season including a Big South First Round win and CIT victory.
Scouting The Blue Hose
- Led by Big South Preseason Second Team member Cory Hightower, Presbyterian is off to a 5-1 start in Big South play under first-year head coach Quentin Ferrell - the best start to league play in program history.
- Hightower paces the offense with 12.7 points a contest as well as 5.9 rebounds while Ben Drake posts 10.2 points and 5.9 boards a night.
- Hightower has stepped his game up in Big South play leading the Blue Hose at 15.0 points per game while Zeb Graham has added 11.7 and Ben Drake sits at 10.2 per night.
- Presbyterian's lone blemish came at home to preseason favorite Radford, but sit 2-0 in league play away from home with wins at Longwood and reigning champion Gardner-Webb.
A Win on Thursday Would…
- Give CSU a five-game win streak over the Blue Hose
- Move CSU to 13-4 against Presbyterian as Big South foes
- Be the 11th home win over Presbyterian all-time
- Give CSU a .667 win percentage over the Blue Hose and move their record to 18-9 overall
- Be win No. 10 on the season for CSU and No. 5 at home
- Extend CSU's second three-game win streak on the season and be their first in Big South play
Last Time Out
- Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had a career day scoring 31 points as Charleston Southern led by as many as 27 on their way to a 79-60 dominating victory over High Point.
- Fleming had 24 in the first half as the Bucs shots .760 from the floor and hit 10 field goals from three-point range, opening up a 49-25 halftime lead. The second half was no different as CSU would add on to their margin before closing it out for a 2-0 trip to the Tar Heel state.
- Ty Jones and Travis Anderson each added 12 points as the Bucs finished the game shooting .560 from the floor while holding High Point to just .379 and below their season average of 64 points.
Series History
- Charleston Southern has dominated the series at home with a 10-3 record taking eight of the nine inside Buccaneer Field House since Presbyterian joined the Big South Conference.
- CSU has also won 10 of the last 11 and own a 12-4 mark as conference opponents.
- CSU's defense has held Presbyterian below 70 points in 13 of the 16 meetings since 2008-09 winning nine of those contests.
Last Time Versus Presbyterian
- Charleston Southern utilized a strong defensive presence and a key six-point swing by Phlandrous Fleming in the second half to pull away late from host Presbyterian College in the Bucs' regular season finale, 72-65.
- CSU (15-14, 9-7 Big South) limited Presbyterian to 34.8% shooting in the game – 25.0% in the second half. The Bucs held the Blue Hose to just one three-pointer over the final 20 minutes in closing out the season sweep over PC.
- Christian Keeling led all players with 25 points and added eight rebounds in the win. Fleming added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
- Adam Flagler led the Blue Hose with 16 points as Presbyterian finished with four players in double-digits in the scoring column. Cory Hightower (14), Kody Shubert (13) and Francois Lewis (11) all scored double-digits in the loss.
