CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern men's basketball fell to USC Upstate at the Buc Dome Saturday night on Senior Night, as the Spartans erased a double-digit deficit at the midway break to come away with a 78-73 win in overtime. 

HOT START
Charleston Southern (5-22, 1-13 Big South) jumped out to an early lead, spending the remainder of the opening frame extending the advantage to 10 at the midway break. The lead was as high as 11 with a Cheikh Faye trey with 3:50 to play in the half.
 
The Bucs then opened the closing stanza by pushing the lead to a game-high 16 after a monster transition jam from Taje' Kelly. 
 
DOWN THE STRETCH
USC Upstate (12-14, 9-5 Big South) answered the call in the second frame, erasing multiple double-digit deficits to force an extra period. Jordan Gainey converted two of two from the charity stripe with just 13 ticks left to knot things up at 65 apiece.
 
The overtime period saw Charleston Southern strike first, as Sean Price pulled down an offensive board and finished a layup for a pair of second-chance tallies. Cheikh Faye would then go 1-2 from the stripe to push the advantage to three, but the Spartans would finish the game on a 13-5 run.

MIRRORED IMAGES
The two sides saw much of each other when looking at the final box scores, as both teams finished the contest shooting 39% from the field. USC Upstate had just one more rebound than Charleston Southern at 42 and a single assist more than the Bucs at 15.
 
From the field, Charleston Southern made just two more buckets than the visitors, including just one more three. 
 
FAB 5
Charleston Southern honored its five seniors prior to tip, as Travis Anderson, Sadarius Bowser, Deontaye Buskey, Jamir Moore and Sean Price all got the start. Moore had the first points of the contest, as a turnover set up the trey in the first minute of play.
 
The five seniors were responsible for the first 10 points for the Buccaneers, and 35 of the total 73 for Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh's side.

UP NEXT
The Bucs' next affair will take place on the road, as Charleston Southern travels to Presbyterian to see the Blue Hose for the second time in the campaign. The first meeting between the two sides saw Presbyterian best the Bucs 62-61 back in January. The rematch is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip Wednesday, February 23.