BOILING SPRINGS, N. C. – Charleston Southern men's basketball fell in its Big South opener Thursday night on the road as Gardner-Webb used a strong first half to better the Bucs, 83-63.

STRONG SECOND HALF
It was a tale of two halves Thursday night, as Gardner-Webb did enough damage in the first frame to pace the way to a win in the conference opener for both teams. Charleston Southern was held to just 32 points in the half while the Bucs gave up 50. CSU was held to just 36% shooting from the field in the half compared to Gardner-Webb's 62% shooting.
 
The Bucs had a better showing in the closing half, holding the Runnin' Bulldogs to just 33 points on under 40% shooting from the field. Charleston Southern also picked up some momentum on the offensive side of the floor, making 12 of its 26 attempts from the field although they were unable to cut into the GWU advantage.
 
TAJE' LEADS THE WAY
Sophomore Taje' Kelly had an efficient night on the offensive side of the floor for the Bucs, finishing the night 6-8 from the field to add to a respectable 6-9 from the charity stripe. Kelly has had a handful of impressive performances this season, but tonight's output stands as his most impressive line tonight.
 
DOUBLE-DIGITS
The Bucs had four in double-figures, paced by Kelly's 18. Claudell Harris Jr. wasn't far behind with 13 of his own as he continues to burn the nets all season. Tahlik Chavez followed his historic performance last time out by turning in another double-digit output with three treys and a trio of conversions from the charity stripe for 12 points and Tyeree Bryan rounded out the double digits with 10 of his own.
 
DETERMINED IN THE PAINT
Gardner-Webb found 48 of its 83 total points in the paint Thursday night while Charleston Southern was held to just 24 of the Bucs' 63 coming from the paint, proving to be the difference down the stretch. 

UP NEXT
The Bucs return home to the Buc Dome for its Big South home opener Saturday, December 31 for a New Year's Eve matinee as they play host to USC Upstate in the first of two with the Spartans on the season. The action is set for a 3:00 p.m. tip.