Bucs Sail Past Johnson & Wales in Season Opener

By: CSU Sports Media

Charleston Southern set a program record with the most players in double-figures in a single game with seven, as the Bucs opened the 2021-22 campaign with a convincing 118-71 win over visiting Johnson & Wales inside the Buc Dome.

The Bucs had five players reach 13 points in a night of balanced scoring, including Deontaye Buskey in his return to action after missing the majority of last season due to injury. Buskey found a stretch of 11 straight points in the second half to help propel the CSU offense. Also, in that group of 13 point-scorers were transfer guard Tahlik Chavez and the freshman tandem of Taje’ Kelly, Kalib Clinton and Claudell Harris Jr.

CSU started the game on a 16-2 run, spanning almost six minutes of gameplay. Johnson & Wales found their first field goal of the contest with 13:34 showing on the clock, as De’Andre Williams finished a runner in the lane to break the drought.

Charleston Southern would then push the advantage to 21 later in the opening stanza when a Chavez trey fell to continue the strong offensive effort from Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh’s bunch.

Chavez scored all of his 13 points in the first half, as he added three dimes and just one turnover. Ja’Quavian Florence collected 10 points of his own in the opening half to go along with a team-high six boards. For the Wildcats, Zyrion Wilkins led the way with seven points in the half, and Jaylen Dibble added six of his own.

The second half opened with another Buc run, as CSU tallied off 21 points in a row to break it open. In that stretch was the Buskey run, as the fifth-year guard converted three treys in a row and added a transition finish to announce his return to the floor after a foul-plagued first half.

Two Kelly free throws with 9:26 remaining pushed the CSU advantage to 40 at 88-48 and the Bucs would not let it fall under that mark the rest of the way. Charleston Southern eclipsed the century for the first time since the 2019 season with just under five minutes to go, adding 18 points the rest of the way.

The Bucs also saw everyone score in the contest, while only having three players play over 20 minutes. The 118-point mark stands as the highest offensive output since the 2013 season, and a collection of 58 rebounds stands tied for the fifth highest in program history.

Up Next
The Bucs hit the road to take on Southeastern Conference opponent Ole Miss to open the road schedule Friday inside of The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.

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