Bucs fight in first tournament game under Nimley, fall to Asheville in Big South quarters

 

Asheville's Drew Pember tries a shot in Friday's quarterfinal win over Charleston Southern.  (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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HIGH POINT, N.C. – If you have any questions about whether Charleston Southern made the correct choice in elevating Saah Nimley to the full-time coaching role earlier this week, many people will offer an opinion.

One of those opinions comes from the guy who helped recruit him.

“I said this after the game – I give a lot of credit to (Charleston Southern AD) Jeff Barber,” Asheville coach Mike Morrell said. “I helped recruit Saah Nimley when I was an assistant at Charleston Southern in 2010-11. (Current Furman coach) Bob Richey was the lead recruiter on him. The first time I went to watch him play in Aiken, South Carolina, he was unbelievable. His teams played like he played, tough and with a chip on their shoulder.”

“I’m really proud of Saah, and I’m really, really excited that he’s got that opportunity. I am not excited to play his teams moving forward, because he’s a hell of a coach, and those guys play for him.”

Nimley, who starred at Charleston Southern and became the interim coach when Barclay Radebaugh stepped down, coached his first Big South tournament game Friday, as his seventh-seeded Bucs took on that former recruiter’s second-seeded Asheville Bulldogs. Though his side fell, 60-55, to the Bulldogs, Nimley saw many positives.

“I’m super proud of our team’s effort,” Nimley said. “The way we came out in the second half – the concentration, the level that we took it to on the defensive end – they know that’s what I’m about and those guys definitely rose to the occasion.”

“Our story of the game was that we struggled to make shots. We struggled to make shots and make layups at the rim. That’s been the story of our season since I’ve taken over December 1, and it’s up to me to decide how to attack that.”

Those three months have represented a lot of change in the Charleston Southern program. Since Nimley took over following Radebaugh’s departure, the Bucs have battled injury and other concerns, finding a bond as a team through the adversity. Nimley refused to make excuses.

“That second half was indicative of who we’ve been and who we’ve become,” Nimley said. “Everything’s a claw. It’s a fight. Asheville had to fight to win that game.”

“I think about it sometimes. There are so many things that the public doesn’t know that went on – battles they’ve had to go through that are out of their control. We had a group full of soldiers. These dudes didn’t complain, they didn’t moan. They just saw the challenge ahead and asked how we could attack it. That’s all we’ve done. We’ve just fought and fought and fought. To be where we were and to be up eight in the second half against Asheville is just indicative of who they’ve been these entire three months.”

The Charleston Southern lead – again, as high as nine at the 8:16 mark – evaporated over the span of six minutes, Asheville chipped away, starting with a Pember dunk that began a 12-3 spurt from the Bulldogs. After CSU regained the lead on a Taje Kelly jumper, Asheville would put it away for good – again, at the hand of Pember. The Big South Player of the Year cashed a pair of triples that largely put away the game.

“I credit our guys for their response in the last eight minutes of the game,” Morrell said. “I thought Charleston Southern came out in the second half and really dictated the style of play. In the end, like I’ve told the team, our experience in moments like this can really serve us well if we allow it to. I thought id did in the second half.”

Pember led all Asheville scorers with yet another double-double, booking 24 points and boarding 14 misses. The Knoxville native hit 9-of-18 tries, including 5-of-10 from deep. Nick McMullen joined Pember in double figures, tallying 10 on 5-for-7 shooting and snaring eight caroms. The Bulldogs hit 35.7 percent of their tries (22-of-60), despite hitting just 28 percent (7-for-25) from deep. Asheville hit 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from the line.

Taje Kelly guided all scorers on the night, putting home 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting and 4-for-4 from distance. Kelly also grabbed nine boards on the night. DJ Patrick contributed 12, hitting 4-of-7 from the field. The Bucs shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) but could land just 6-of-20 (30 percent) from beyond the arc. CSU hit 11-of-18 (61 percent) from the line.

Asheville (21-11) advances to Saturday’s second semifinal against the winner of sixth-seeded Presbyterian and third-seeded Gardner-Webb. Charleston Southern ends its season at 10-20.