CHARLESTON, S.C. - The 2024-25 Charleston Southern Men's Basketball finally kicked off Monday night in Littlejohn Coliseum as the Bucs would face the Tigers of Clemson.
Since last season's completion, CSU has acquired nine new players, multiple new coaches and everything in between. Even in the world of heavy college basketball transfer portal use, that many new faces is above average. Monday night close to 16,000 eyeballs, along with countless ACC Network X viewers, got to see Head Coach Saah Nimley's Buccaneers take the floor as a new unit.
A pair of returning CSU play makers, A'lahn Sumler and DJ Patrick, were not present in the starting lineup as many Buc Nation members expected due to the two currently handling injuries. Fortunately two transfer portal additions, Daylen Berry (Charlotte) and Lamar Oden Jr. (Drexel), were ready to play significant minutes and show what they bring to the blue and gold table.
The ball game tipped off and Clemson did what experienced, battle tested home teams do, find ways to produce. The Tigers shot nearly fifty-percent from both the field (48.48%) and behind the arc (50.00%) in the first half. CSU was actively figuring out how to operate with a majority new nucleus on the floor, and since the veteran Buc duo of RJ Johnson and Taje' Kelly did not begin the game particularly hot, the transfer portal wing-duo of Berry and Oden Jr. showed the attendees of Littlejohn Coliseum that they can make shots. Shooting a team high 50 percent from the floor was the graduate transfer, Lamar Oden Jr.. Last season as a Drexel Dragon, Oden Jr. only averaged five points per contest. In his first game as a Buc, he tripled that, posting a team high 15 points and six boards. Daylen Berry, a redshirt junior from the Charlotte 49ers, finished second in the Bucs' scoring column with 14. His shot making was not his only contribution to CSU's offensive effort though, he was one dime shy of a team-high in assists (5).
The first half served as an opportunity for the Bucs to get their jitters out and settle in on execution, and in the second half a new gear was kicked into. CSU shot a solid 46 percent from the field in the second half and as a result, 40 of their 64 points were recorded in the last 20 minutes of the ball game.
On the boards, although being out-manned, CSU pulled in 34 of the contest's 74 rebounds (45.9%). Almost a third of those boards were credited to senior forward and preseason Big South first team honoree, Taje' Kelly. Kelly was matched up with former high school teammate and now Clemson star Ian Schieffelin. Although neither one of the Grayson High School alumni members reached double figures in the scoring column, they both showed that board-getting must be a common denominator from their days back in Atlanta.
Another mentionable performance from the CSU side belongs to true freshman guard, Keenan Wilkins. In his first ever college basketball contest, the 5'10" Wilkins was one of only three Bucs to score in double figures (10). Wilkins knocked down two of his four three-point attempts in addition to shooting 4/5 from the charity stripe.
A 40-point second half on an efficient shooting percentage was not enough for the Bucs to close the first half gap as they would eventually fall to the Tigers 64-91.
Buc fans will not have to wait long to see another men's basketball battle as CSU will be traveling to Jacksonville, Florida this Thursday to face off against the North Florida Ospreys at 7 PM. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
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