RADFORD, Va. – Gardner-Webb connected on 9-of-13 shots to begin the second half and placed six players in double figures to defeat Radford 91-71 in both teams' Big South men's basketball opener at Peters Hall Thursday night.

“Gardner-Webb shot the lights out in the second half,” said Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “They did a great job making the extra pass and shooting from the perimeter. They also did an excellent job crowding the lane and causing turnovers. The bottom line was they were much more efficient offensively.”

With a 38-34 lead at the break, Grayson Flittner opened the period for the Runnin' Bulldogs (2-5, 1-0 Big South) with an up-and-under shot from the baseline, then Nate Linn stopped and knocked down a jumper from the free throw line 1:27 into the half to open up a 42-34 lead.

Gardner-Webb continued to pull away and extended its advantage to 65-47 when Nate Blank drilled his club's third consecutive three-pointer in nearly a minute's time.

The visitors torched the nets at a 66.7 percent field goal clip in the second half, and finished the game shooting 52.2 percent. The Highlanders concluded the evening just under 44 percent and made 7-of-17 from downtown.

Of the six that hit the 10-point plateau for the Runnin' Bulldogs, Linn led the way with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes of action.

Gardner-Webb forced 23 Radford turnovers converting them into 30 points at the other end.

Despite the loss, Radford (2-4, 0-1 Big South) controlled the glass, 36-27. The Highlanders' Artsiom Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) led all players with 11 rebounds.

Radford was led by a 25-point effort from senior Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) , who scored 15 in the first 6:21 of the contest on 5-of-7 shooting. Thomas finished 9-of-17 from the field.

"Kenny Thomas had a strong game," Greenberg said. "He's been our most consistent perimeter player all season and his work ethic has been exemplary."

Junior Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) also turned in a solid performance for the Highlanders with 20 points, knocking down 10-of-12 tries at the line.

In the first half, Radford opened up a lead of as many as 12 points at 11:36 mark, going ahead 21-9 after a turnaround hook shot in the paint from Lynch-Flohr.

Gardner-Webb was able to cut into the lead from that point on, as Flittner capped off an 11-2 run on a driving runner from the right baseline to cut Radford's lead to one, 23-22, with 8:05 left in the half.

Then, a 16-4 swing over four minutes by the Runnin' Bulldogs gave them their first advantage of the contest. At the 4:33 mark, Linn made a quick dish from the paint to the right side for Takayo Siddle, who knocked down a three-pointer to make it 30-29 and give Gardner-Webb the lead for good. Linn drained two more treys, pushing the margin to 38-29 with 2:27 remaining in the opening half.

As a team, the Highlanders finished the evening 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) from the line.

Radford continues its longest homestand of the season with a 7 p.m. tilt against Winthrop on Saturday.