CHARLESTON – Saturday afternoon, Charleston Southern hosted the defending 2025 Big South champions, the High Point Panthers. The Buccaneers fell by two points, 84–82 — the smallest margin of defeat against the Panthers since 2019.

In the first nine minutes of the game, efficient shooting by CSU helped the Bucs build a five-point lead, 19–14. Tough two-point makes and a handful of free throws allowed High Point to trim the deficit, and a Rob Martin three-pointer brought the Panthers within one possession of the hosts at 29–28. Later in the half, CSU found itself trailing by two until senior Reis Jones swatted a shot on defense and, and seconds later, converted a layup plus the foul to give the Bucs a 38–37 advantage.

Charleston Southern entered the halftime locker room down one point, 41–40. A game plagued by foul calls was evident in the first half, as a total of 28 fouls were whistled, including 17 on the home-team Buccaneers.

Immediate energy from Charleston Southern jolted the Bucs to a noticeable lead in the second half. True freshman Jacob Taylor took a charge, and on the ensuing CSU possession, Luke Williams knocked down a turnaround jump shot to give Charleston Southern a double-digit advantage, 63–53.

With 2:15 remaining in regulation, an A'lahn Sumler three-pointer tied the contest at 70–70. Two tough post buckets from HPU's Owen Aquino gave High Point a 76–72 lead with 34 seconds left. Then, Luke Williams had his moment. A layup in the paint cut the deficit to two, and after a miss by High Point's Rob Martin, Williams drilled a turnaround jumper with two seconds on the clock to tie the game at 76–76.

A missed Panther shot attempt sent the game to overtime, where three made free throws, a three-pointer, and a layup proved enough for High Point to escape the Buc Dome with an 84–82 victory.

Notables:

• High Point shot 40 free-throws in Saturday's contest, compared to CSU's 15 – Unsurprisingly CSU's largest free-throw count differential of the year.

• Four Buccaneers would score in double-figures on Saturday: A'lahn Sumler (19), Luke Williams (16), Jesse Hafemeiser (15), and Reis Jones (13).

• Jones also recorded a double-double in the contest, hauling in 14 rebounds in addition to his 13 points. The 14-rebound marker tied his collegiate career-high.

• Jesse Hafemeister shot an impressive 50% from beyond the three-point line, shooting 4-for-8.

Up Next:

Charleston Southern will stay on their home turf next week with only one contest on the schedule – a 7:00 PM dance with the USC Upstate Spartans on Wednesday, January 14th. The game will be viewable on ESPN+.

To see a full sit-down conversation with Coach Nimley discussing the Bucs' next opponents and previous game recaps, watch the "2025-2026 Nimley Coaches Show" on CSUsports.com, X/Twitter, or YouTube.

For all the most up-to-date coverage involving CSU Men's Basketball, follow us on Instagram and X/Twitter @csu_mbball.