No. 8 Charleston Southern Defeats No. 9 Presbyterian in First Round, 68-51
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern delivered a complete effort to roll past Presbyterian, 68-51, in the first round of the Big South Championship Tuesday at the Buc Dome. CSU led wire-to-wire and by as many as 22 points to record its eighth win in ten games and earn a date with top-seeded UNC Asheville in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
BOX SCORE
A third consecutive stingy defensive performance and balanced scoring powered the Bucs. CSU (15-15) held Presbyterian (11-21) to 16 first half points while forcing 11 turnovers to build a nine-point halftime advantage. Paced by Ty Jones and Cortez Mitchell, the Bucs then kicked their offense into gear in the second half, attacking the Blue Hose zone and assisting nine of their 15 field goals while shooting 56 percent. Phlandrous Fleming Jr.’s three-pointer gave CSU a 12-point lead at the 16:06 mark and PC never came closer than ten the rest of the way.
Fleming sandwiched another three around a Christian Keeling triple and layup to spark an 8-0 spurt and give CSU its largest edge, 62-40, with 3:56 remaining. Barclay Radebaugh was able to empty his bench in the final minute as the Bucs mostly cruised to a convincing victory. PC had defeated CSU in Charleston on Jan. 24 and battled the Bucs to the wire in Clinton just two-and-a-half weeks ago.
Next up for CSU is a stern challenge at regular season champion Asheville. The Bucs took the Bulldogs to overtime only nine days ago. CSU and Asheville, at 7-2, shared the Big South’s best record over the back half of league play.
A smothering defensive showing allowed CSU to control the first half despite shooting just 35.5 percent. CSU held PC scoreless for nine minutes at one point during a 7-0 spurt that produced a 21-11 lead with 4:27 left.
Ty Jones tallied ten points in the opening stanza to help pick up the slack for second team all-conference performer Christian Keeling, who went to the bench after picking up his second foul at the 12:37 mark. Jones scored six consecutive points to provide CSU its largest first half lead, 25-12, with 2:19 remaining.
PC was able to stay within striking distance early in the second half, closing the gap to 36-26 on J.C. Younger’s driving score with 13:08 left. CSU took over from there, outscoring the Blue Hose 26-14 over the ensuing 9:12. Travis McConico helped jumpstart that stretch with a three and a put back. Javis Howard added a rare trey – just the seventh of his career – as the Bucs received contributions from up and down the roster.