CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia hit five of six free throws in the final 2:35, coming from behind to defeat Radford, 68-66, in non-conference men's basketball at John Paul Jones Arena Friday night.

After a fall-away jumper from the left baseline by senior Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) with just under four minutes left cut the Cavalier (3-0) lead to 61-59, a pair of free throws from classmate Martell McDuffy (Laurel, Md./DeMatha) at 3:26 tied the game, 61-61.

Less than a minute later, Calvin Baker stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws of his own to give Virginia back the lead, 63-61.

The two teams traded baskets following the trips to the stripe, then Thomas' put-back from under the bucket with 1:31 remaining evened things again, 65-65.

Following a missed basket at the other end, junior Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) grabbed the rebound, then was fouled on the offensive end. He connected on one of the ensuing free throws, giving the Highlanders (2-1) the lead back with 51 seconds left.

But Sylven Landesburg knocked down a pair of chances at the stripe with 29 seconds remaining to put Virginia ahead, and a Baker free throw with 13 seconds left extended the advantage to the eventual final.

"I think we're a better team than we were a year ago, and I thought we played a good game tonight, commented Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “We learned a lot about what we can do to get even better."

Despite the loss, Radford held Virginia to just 36.9 percent from the floor.

Another bright spot for the Highlanders defensively were their 10 blocks, six of which came from senior Eric Hall (Greensboro, N.C./Ben L. Smith). Both Hall's career-tying mark and the team total set new JPJ Arena records.

Landesburg led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 9-of-15 shots, and 3-of-4 chances at the free throw line in the second half.

Radford had four of its starting five in double figures, paced by junior Art Parakhouski's (Minsk, Belarus) 16 points. Parakhouski's 12 rebounds were also a game-high. Lynch-Flohr finished with 15, while McDuffy and Thomas recorded 13 and 10, respectively. McDuffy knocked down 3-of-6 shots from three-point range, and Thomas hit on all four of his tries from the charity stripe.

"We have the potential to have a good balance of inside and outside basketball and if we keep working to be a good defensive team, we'll be able to score enough points with our inside players and perimeter shooters to be a team that can win some games."

In the first half, a pair of three-pointers from McDuffy in the final five minutes gave Radford its first lead since the 12 minute mark. McDuffy connected from up top to put the Highlanders ahead 24-21 at 4:27, then sank one from the right side with 1:27 left to cement Radford's 29-27 lead heading into the break.

After a Jamil Tucker layup 2:38 into the second half put Virginia back ahead 33-31, Radford got the lead back when Thomas sank a pair of free throws at the 12:47 mark. The Highlanders built on that lead when Parakhouski knocked down a jumper from the elbow at 12:18 to make it a 44-41 game.

Following a deep three-pointer from the left side by McDuffy at 7:03, Virginia reeled off an 8-3 run to regain the lead. A put-back by Mike Scott a minute later tied the game, 55-55, then Baker's free throws at 5:21 put the Cavaliers back ahead, the sixth lead change of the contest.

Virginia went to the line 24 times and connected on 19 of them for a 79.2 percent clip.

"Our guys think they're capable of doing good things this year, and the important thing for our players to know is that we're scratching the surface of the team we can be."

Radford travels to William & Mary Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

NOTES
Virginia improves its record to 5-0 against Radford… Junior Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) handed out a pair of assists to move into 10th place alone on Radford's all-time list… First meeting between Radford and Virginia since 1997… First appearance by Radford at John Paul Jones Arena.