Box Score

LEXINGTON, Va. – Highlighted by five players in double figures including three double-doubles, Radford claimed its fourth Big South regular season title with a 97-90 victory over VMI in men's basketball action Saturday evening at Cameron Hall in front of 4,744 fans.

“Our guys deserve all the credit in the world,” commented Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “They have worked so hard for the last six months. This is a total team effort, hard-working players, incredibly hard-working staff (assistant coaches) and the great support of our administration.”

The win was the Highlanders' nation-leading ninth straight on the road and eighth overall as they improve to 17-10 overall and 14-2 in the league. VMI drops its third consecutive falling to 20-7 and 11-5.

By locking up the number one seed, Radford has secured home court throughout the 2009 Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Tournament.

Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) led Radford with a season-high 28 points on 10-of-16 from the floor, including three buckets from deep. Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) recorded his 14th double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) and Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) also contributed 15 points and 14 boards each.

“The feeling is indescribable,” said Thomas. “I feel so happy, to go from what it was in previous seasons to regular season champs is awesome.”

“This is a great feeling, we've been working so hard to get to this point, but we're not done yet. We want to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament,” remarked Johnson.

Sophomore Chris McEachin (Norfolk, Va./Norview) also scored in double figures for RU with 11 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

After its impressive shooting performance in the first half, Radford drilled 63.3 percent of its attempts after intermission to finish with a season-high 61.3 percent (38-62) clip. The Keydets connected on 16 three-pointers, but shot just 35.3 percent (30-of-85) from the field in a game they never led.

To go with their impressive shooting totals, the Highlanders set a school record for rebounds and rebounding margin with a 65-26 differential. Radford's total was also just one off a new Cameron Hall record.

Radford, which torched the nets for 59.4 percent (19-32) in the opening stanza, used a 16-2 run capped off by Parakhouski's fourth two-handed jam of the period to grab a 28-12 advantage. The Highlanders stretched their lead to as many as 17 (37-20) on a Johnson trey from the top of the key, but VMI closed the half on a 13-5 streak to cut the deficit to 47-40 at the break.

Along with holding VMI to just 13-of-41 (31.7 percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes, Radford dominated the glass, 32-12, with nine of the rebounds coming from the 5-9 Johnson.

VMI made it a two-point contest on separate occasions midway through the second half, but Radford responded with a 13-3 flurry highlighted by back-to-back treys from Thomas to put the game out of reach.

Chavis Holmes, playing In the final regular season home game of his career led four Keydets in double digits with a game-high 29 points, including six from behind the arc.

Radford will begin a two-game homestand to conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. contest against High Point Wednesday evening at the Dedmon Center.

NOTES: With the triumph, Radford is guaranteed a postseason NIT berth… Radford is the first team in league history to win the regular season title after finishing seventh the previous year… The Highlanders set a new school record for conference wins in a campaign… Radford has won eight straight and 13 of its last 14… The Highlanders' 9-0 road mark in Big South play is a league record... Nine road victories in a campaign is also a school record… Its Radford's fourth regular season title in school history… The last time Radford won the regular season title was in 2000-01, which was also the last time it won 17 games in a season… The Highlanders are tied with UConn for the longest road streak in the country… It's the 15th time this season Radford has placed at least four in double figures…