RADFORD, Va. – Radford placed six players in double figures and shot 54.4 percent from the floor to defeat UNC Asheville 98-88 in overtime Saturday evening at Peters Hall.

The victory was the third straight for the Highlanders and their fourth consecutive Big South win as they improve to 7-9 overall and 4-1 in the league, while UNCA falls to 7-9 and 3-2.

“This was a great team win,” commented Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “Everybody that played made positive contributions and it's impossible to single out one guy.”

Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), who just missed tying his career-high, connected on 8-of-9 from the floor and went 6-for-7 at the line to lead Radford with 22 points. Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa/Quaker Valley) knocked down 10 of his 13 attempts from the stripe to finish with 18 points. To go along with his scoring total, Johnson pulled down seven rebounds and handed out seven assists in 45 minutes of action.

Also in double digits for the Highlanders were Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) and Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus), who added 15 points each, while Eric Hall (Greensboro, N.C./Ben L. Smith) and Chris McEachin (Norfolk, Va./Norview) contributed 11 and 10 off the bench, respectively.

Following a pair of Johnson free throws that put the Highlanders up 80-75 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Jason Ridenhour quickly cut the lead to one, 80-79, with a three-pointer and free throw in consecutive trips. With just five ticks left on the clock, Thomas made the second of two tries at the charity stripe to make it a two point contest, but UNCA's Matt Dickey drove the length of the floor and hit a layup from the left side as time expired to send the game into overtime.

After trading free throws to find themselves tied 85-85 in overtime, Radford closed the extra session on a 13-3 run to put the game away and add to its longest conference winning streak since 2006.

“We showed tremendous resilience in overtime holding them to just 1-of-8 shooting. To guard that well in the extra period, showed the mental and physical toughness you need to win extremely competitive conference games,” said Coach Greenberg.

The Highlanders finished the evening 32-of-43 (74.4 percent) from the line, including a 9-for-10 effort in overtime.

Reid Augst led three UNC Asheville players in double digits with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Sean Smith finished with 18 and Chris Stephenson tallied 14 for the Bulldogs.

Radford, which connected on 11 of its first 13 shots from the floor, including three buckets from downtown, led 44-35 at the half. The Highlanders concluded the first 20 minutes of action shooting 61.5 percent (16-26) and led by as many as 12 twice.

The Bulldogs managed to keep the game close thanks to a 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) showing from behind the three-point arc in the opening period.

To go along with its hot-shooting, Radford outscored the Bulldogs 48-28 in the paint. The Highlanders also got 29 points from their bench.

UNC Asheville slowly chipped away at the nine point halftime deficit and tied the contest for the first time since the opening tip, 66-66 on a Reid Augst trey with 6:14 remaining. The Highlanders answered the UNCA spurt with six straight points to make it a 72-66.

UNC Asheville tied the score on four separate occasions, but never led in the contest.

The Highlanders, who entered the contest ranked first in the Big South in rebounding margin, controlled the glass 45-32.

“I couldn't be more proud of Eric Hall, Amir Johnson, Joey Lynch-Flohr, Phillip Martin (Roanoke, Va./Roanoke Catholic), Chris McEachin, Art Parakhouski and Kenny Thomas.”

Radford will conclude its brief homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against Charleston Southern Monday at Peters Hall.

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