Charleston Southern tops Campbell 81-71

Mar 5, 2014, 09:43 pm

CONWAY, S.C. -- Arlon Harper scored 20 points and Will Saunders added 18 as Charleston Southern, the No. 5 seed out of the North Division, beat Campbell, seeded fourth from the South Division, 81-71 in the opening round of the Big South Conference tournament Wednesday night.

Charleston Southern (13-17) trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and went into the break down 42-33.

The Buccaneers hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions during a 13-5 spurt early in the second half to make it 53-50 with 13 minutes left.

A 13-3 run a few minutes later gave CSU its first lead, 68-64, since the game's opening minutes, when it led 2-1.

Charleston Southern dominated the glass, outrebounding Campbell 41-26 overall and 13-4 on the offensive glass.

Reco McCarter paced the Fighting Camels (12-20) with 19 points.

The Buccaneers will take on Coastal Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday.