RADFORD, Va. -- Tournament MVP Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) was one of three Radford players to record a double-double as the Highlanders advanced to their second NCAA Tournament in school history with a 108-94 victory over VMI in the Big South Championship Saturday at the Dedmon Center.
Radford won its second tournament championship, first since 1998, to punch a ticket to the NCAA field of 65.
The Highlanders will learn their seed, destination and opponent on Selection Sunday, which will be televised on CBS, March 15.
Parakhouski, the Big South's Player of the Year in the regular season, posted his 16th double-double of the year with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 18 rebounds. His effort on the glass tied a Big South tournament record and broke the league's single-season mark.
The junior forward had 15 points in the first half, including eight in the final 6:02 of the period to stake the Highlanders to a 50-46 advantage at intermission.
In the second half, Parakhouski's jumper at the 13:58 mark gave Radford the lead for good, 62-61, as part of a 14-3 run.
Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) and Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), Big South All-Tournament honorees, also contributed double-double efforts for Radford (21-11). Lynch-Flohr knocked down 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled in 11 rebounds, while Thomas contributed 15 points and 10 boards.
Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley), Chris McEachin (Norfolk, Va./Norview) and Eric Hall (Greensboro, N.C./Ben L. Smith) joined six Highlanders in double digits. Johnson had 16, while becoming the 24th player in Radford men's basketball history to go over the 1,000-point plateau. McEachin came off the bench to add 18 points and five of the Highlanders' 10 blocks. Hall finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in just 11 minutes of action.
Radford rallied from a 13-0 hole to begin the game, capped off by Austin Kenon's three-pointer, as the Keydets knocked down a trio of treys in the first 1:59.
The Highlanders also had to withstand a 24-point first half performance by Kenon, who hit on six from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
After Parakhouski's bucket gave the Highlanders a 21-20 lead at 11:38, Kenon drilled a three less than four minutes later to put VMI back in front, 31-29.
Then Radford, which shot 58.3 percent (21-of-36) in the first half, scored 11 straight shortly after Kenon's trey to grab a 40-33 lead, capped off by Hall's layup at 5:28.
Radford scored a season-high 108 points, including 64 in the paint, and connected on 55.7 percent of its shots (39-of-70).
The Highlanders also put back 28 second-chance points and dominated the Keydets on the glass, 57-31.
The combined point total (212 points) and Radford's made field goals (39) were new Big South tournament records.
VMI (24-8) got a game-high and Big South championship record 34 points from Kenon, who connected on 8-of-19 from deep. Twin brothers Chavis and Travis Holmes also reached double figures, scoring 21 and 11, respectively. Kenon and Chavis Holmes also earned all-tournament honors.
Quotes from Radford Head Coach Brad Greenberg
Opening Statement
“This is a remarkable day for Radford and VMI is most deserving of their accolades, and congratulations to them on a fantastic season. They have wonderful kids and a great coach. It's hard to see anybody lose a game like that when both teams played their hearts out.”
“It's a wonderful day for us. These guys are a great group of kids. They not only aspired to do this, but they actually did the work. Our staff, has been together for two years and they are unbelievable as well."
On Amir Johnson, the 24th player to score 1,000 points at Radford
“Amir Johnson sacrificed so much this year. He took a huge step to be a great basketball player. We would not be here without his work this year. He does a great job and deserves this recognition.”
Closing Statement
“It is a tremendous luxury to have three big guys like Art [Parakhouski], Joey [Lynch-Flohr], and Eric [Hall]. Art is big and strong. Joey is just so strong and aggressive, and Eric comes in and changes the game. We didn't run a single play all game. Our goal was to go inside. When you play against that press, you have to make plays and be aggressive. Our strategy was to break the press and have our big guys run to the basket.”
“It hasn't sunk in yet, what we just did. I mumbled to one of our assistants that, wow we are going to the NCAA Tournament!”
