Saah Nimley scored 34 points, 25 of them coming in a second half that saw Charleston Southern extend a seven-point halftime lead to a 75-49 win over the Presbyterian College men's basketball team in Big South action Wednesday at the Buc Dome in Charleston, S.C.
The Blue Hose drop to 9-19 overall and 5-10 in the Big South, while the Bucs improve to 17-9, 11-4. PC is next in action Saturday, Feb. 21, at High Point. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
PC led by three with just over 16 to go in the half, but it was CSU with the next six in a row to take its own three-point lead, 9-6, 13:28 on the clock. A DeSean Murray basket, the first of his six points on the night, and two free throws by Davon Bell, gave the Blue Hose a one-point lead again. The Bucs rattled off the next eight straight points, six coming from three-pointers from Will Saunders and Nimley, to take a 19-12 lead, with 8:36 to go.
Will Adams cut the lead to four with the team's first of just three three-pointers of the night, while two more of Bell's free throws made it a two-point game, 6:46 left before the break. It was short-lived as Nimley and Jabbar Washington responded with back to back threes to make it an eight-point game.
Leading by six, Nimley connected on his third three-pointer and the team's sixth of the half to give the home team its largest lead of the stanza at nine, 28-19. The Blue Hose scored the half's final four of six points to cut the lead to seven at the break, 30-23.
Three-pointers by Janeil Jenkins and Bell the opening two minutes of the second half made it a four point game, 33-29. After Nimley's three gave CSU a seven-point lead again, Marcus Terry cut the margin to five, 36-31, 17:16 on the clock. Those would be the final points for PC for the next five and a half minutes as CSU used a 13-0 run to build a 49-31 lead, with just over 12 remaining.
CSU extended its lead to 21 before a free throw by Bell and two by Jordan Downing, who finished the night with a team-leading 12 points, to cut the margin to 18, 58-40, 6:49 left. That would be as close as the Blue Hose would get as the Bucs finished the game on a 17-9 run to win 75-49.
PC shot 36.0% from the field, compared to 45.8% for CSU, with the Bucs connecting on 13-of-27 three-pointers, to three for the Blue Hose. CSU pulled down 39 rebounds, while PC finished with 30. Turnovers were fairly even with the Blue Hose posting one more, 13-12.
Three players led the Blue Hose in rebounds with Murray, William Truss and Ed Drew recording six apiece. Paul Gombwer and Saunders each had eight rebounds each.
