Bucs’ comeback bid falls short Friday to Eastern Kentucky

RALEIGH, N.C. - After falling behind at halftime and playing shorthanded, Charleston Southern’s comeback bid fell short in the final moments Friday afternoon dropping their finale at the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational 60-50 to Eastern Kentucky.

Less than 48 hours after 12 points in his debut, freshman guard Ja’Quavian Florence showed out for his first collegiate double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Sean Price, who turned-in a 10-point, 8-rebound effort for his second game in double figures on the season.

Eastern Kentucky (2-0) would lead by as many as 17 at the end of the first half thanks to 11 points from Tre King and Cheikh Faye, but Charleston Southern (0-2) wouldn’t go away quietly getting back to within six a few times before falling short in the end. The Colonels had three players finish the day in double figures led by 15 from King.

That CSU rally saw the defense clamp down and hold EKU to just .358 from the floor and .143 from deep, but turnovers proved costly Friday.

Terence Porter Jr. added seven points Friday to go along with five rebounds while Sadarius Bowser also grabbed six boards in the loss.

How It Happened

• Eastern Kentucky built a first half lead forcing 12 CSU turnovers into a 17-point lead at the break
  
• Tre King and Cheikh Faye each hit triples to extend the EKU lead scoring 11 each in the first 20 minutes
  
• Trailing 22-13 at the 9:39 mark, CSU got buckets from Florence, Edwards and Price to cut it to 22-19
  
• EKU would end the half from there outsourcing CSU 16-2
  
• CSU kept cutting into the deficit but couldn’t get closer than six down the stretch
  
• Florence scored 11 of his game-high 19 in the second half and grabbed six of his 10 rebounds
  
• Price added six of 10 points off the bench in the second half playing 30 minutes for the second-straight contest
  

News and Notes

• CSU got 36 of their 50 points Friday from either true or redshirt-freshmen
  
• Ja’Quavian Florence finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds for his first double-double
  
• Sean Price added 10 points and 8 rebounds
  
• The Bucs finished plus-12 in the rebound category, the second game out-rebounding their opponent
  
• CSU’s three-point defense shut out EKU in the second half
  

Up Next

Charleston Southern heads home for a pair of contests starting with future Big South foe North Carolina A&T. Tipoff with the Aggies is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 1 from Buccaneer Field House.