CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern freshman guard Christian Keeling scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half to propel the Buccaneers past visiting Longwood 76-61 Saturday evening at The Buc Dome.

Keeling entered the game as the Big South's second-leading freshman scorer and made a bid to overtake UNC Asheville phenom MaCio Teague atop that list, catching fire over the game's final 16 minutes en route to his fifth 20-point game of the season. After shooting just 4-of-15 from the floor to start the game, he knocked down six of his final 10 shots against an injury-depleted Longwood team down to just eight scholarship players.
 
The win was the third in the past four games for Charleston Southern (7-12, 3-5 Big South).
 
Keeling's late-game surge halted a Longwood (6-13, 3-5 Big South) rally that saw the Lancers fight back from a 10-point deficit to cut Charleston Southern's lead to four points with 17-plus minutes to play. That surge came at a cost, however, as the Lancers made the run behind an energy-sapping defensive press that took its toll on a starting five who played 76 percent of the team's total minutes Saturday.
 
"We had to press, which was productive, but it took more energy out of us," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "The good thing is we got some steals that enabled us to score. The bad thing about it was we gave [Keeling] buckets on the back end of that press, because you end up having post guys trying to guard him and he's just too quick for that. To his credit, he took advantage of it."
 
Keeling used those mismatches to drive home the final nail late in the second half, scoring every point during a 10-2 Buccaneer run that ballooned their lead to 70-52 at the four-minute mark.
 
"He's a great offensive player," Gee said. "He has a 30-point game and a couple others close to that. He has the ability to finish at the basket and score from all three levels. He hit two threes, and he scored a lot at the basket. I thought there were some tough calls where he got some fouls called on him when we were in good defensive position, but it didn't go our way, which happens."
 
Keeling's 28 points were the most Longwood has allowed to a single player this season and enough to offset a 20-point effort from Longwood redshirt sophomore Isaiah Walton. Walton hit 8-of-15 shots from the field on the way to his team-leading third 20-point game of the year and second in Big South play.
 
Walton, Darrion Allen and Khris Lane kept Longwood within five points at halftime but weren't enough to overcome a Charleston Southern squad that got 23 points off 16 Longwood turnovers and 18 off second-chance opportunities. Each of those three scored in double figures for the third straight game, but the rest of Longwood's lineup combined for just 13 points.
 
"Darrion Allen played his heart out," said Gee of his senior captain, who played a team-high 35 minutes, adding to his Big South-leading average of 35.2 minutes per game.
 
"He was relentless on both ends. He really extended himself. I thought he was tired; I just couldn't afford to take him out. He had 13 hard-earned points, but what I was really impressed with was he had seven rebounds. He really helped us battle on the boards, and that's what kept us in it for a short period of time. In the end, we just didn't have enough to get us over the hump."
 
The loss is the fifth straight for the Lancers, who opened Big South play 3-0 for the first time in school history and occupied the top spot in the Big South standings until a loss at preseason favorite Winthrop sparked a five-game skid.
 
"It's not for a lack of want-to, effort or even attitude," Gee said. "When we get worn down, everything seems to melt down on us. It truly doesn't' depict the effort or the mindset or the commitment we've shown. One thing we have to focus on is just becoming more mentally tough. We have to weather the storms that will come our way, especially on the road."
 
Longwood's next opportunity to get back into the win column comes Thursday, Jan. 26, when Highway 460 rival Liberty makes the short drive from Lynchburg for a 7 p.m. showdown in Willett Hall. The Lancers and Flames have split the past four meetings 2-2, including last year's two regular season meetings in which Liberty pulled out back-to-back wins, both of which were by just one possession.
 
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