CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern men's basketball made the most of its Big South home opener, hanging on for a 90-85 win over visiting USC Upstate to even its conference record on the season.
ENOUGH WHEN IT MATTERS
Charleston Southern found themselves up nine with just under 90 ticks remaining, getting just enough stops down the stretch to see it through for the win inside the Buc Dome. Free throws from
Claudell Harris Jr. and
Cheikh Faye helped the cause as well, as they each converted two-of-two to shut the door on a USC Upstate comeback bid.
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The Bucs impressed from the field as a unit in the second half as well, finishing the stanza shooting just under 52%. The charity stripe proved large for Charleston Southern too with a 15-17 showing at the line in the final 20.
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TAJE' LEADS THE WAY, AGAIN
Sophomore
Taje' Kelly had an efficient night on the offensive side of the floor for the Bucs, finishing the night 7-13 from the field for 17 points to add to his 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Five of Kelly's ten boards came on the offensive glass, leading to a handful of putbacks to highlight the impressive line.
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DOUBLE-DIGITS
The Bucs had five in double-figures, paced by Harris Jr.'s 21. Kelly wasn't far behind with 17 and
Tahlik Chavez added 15 as he continues to contribute from behind the line.
Tyeree Bryan had a strong night as well, adding eight rebounds to his 12-point output and
RJ Johnson hit a big shot down the stretch to add to his 11 points.
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HUSTLE STATS
Charleston Southern had a complete performance as far as hustle stats this afternoon, outrebounding USC Upstate 37-27 including a 17-7 difference on the offensive glass. Points off turnovers went in the favor of CSU as well, as the Bucs found 15 compared to the Spartans' 11. The biggest number comes from second chance points, as the home team doubled-up USC Upstate in the category.
UP NEXT
The Bucs play hosts for the second-straight contest in their next affair, as Longwood travels down to the Buc Dome in a Big South affair Wednesday, January 4. The action is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
