MEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS BIG SOUTH OPENER AT CSU, 83-73

BOX SCORE

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern used a late second-half run to get by Radford, 83-73, in the Big South men's basketball opener for both teams on Thursday evening at the CSU Fieldhouse.

The Buccaneers broke open a back-and-forth second half with an 11-1 run to stretch the margin to double-digits (70-60) and put the contest out of reach.

Despite the setback, Radford (3-5, 0-1 Big South) knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers (11-of-22).

Charleston Southern's Saah Nimley led all players with 22 points, while Mathiang Muo added 21 points, including four 3-pointers and a 7-of-9 showing at the free throw line. Kelvin Martin also recorded double figures for the Bucs with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

As a team, the Buccaneers converted 22 of their 33 attempts at the line, while Radford went 12-of-20 (.600).

The freshman backcourt combo of R.J. Price (Mechanicsville, Va. / Atlee) and Brian Darden (Hampton, Va. / Phoebus) paced the Highlanders with 15 and 13 points, respectively, and combined for seven 3-pointers. Johnathan Edwards (Queens, N.Y. / Tyler JUCO) contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for Radford.

After Charleston Southern (4-2, 1-0 Big South) reeled off 12 unanswered and led by as many as 10 (19-10), the Highlanders slowly chipped away at the deficit and took a 41-40 lead into the break on a Price trey at the buzzer.

Led by Darden's 4-for-4 effort from long range in the first half, Radford hit eight 3-pointers in the opening period, including its first five buckets of the contest.

Both clubs finished with 40 rebounds. The Highlanders committed 17 turnovers, which resulted in 19 points at the other end for the Buccaneers, who turned it over just seven times.

The contest featured six ties and 11 lead changes. Radford shot 45.5 percent (25-55) from the floor, while Charleston Southern finished the evening at 40.6 percent (26-64).

Radford will conclude its five-game trip away from home on Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at Presbyterian.

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