BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) scored 31 points, including 16 of Radford's final 26, leading the Highlanders to an 82-74 Big South men's basketball win over UNC Asheville at the Dedmon Center on Saturday.

With the game tied at 56-56 at the 6:52 mark in a back-and-forth second half, Parakhouski, the nation's tenth-leading scorer entering the game (22.9), led the Highlanders (7-5, 3-0 Big South) to a comfortable advantage beginning with his three-point play to give Radford the lead back for good at 59-56.  His 11 straight points from 3:48 to 2:10 pushed the lead back to double digits, 72-60.

Parakhouski connected on all eight of his field goal tries in a second half where the Highlanders shot 71 percent (17 of 24) from the field.

The 6-11 senior posted his second straight 30-point effort by missing just one field goal (12 of 13) and hitting 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Parakhouski also added seven rebounds.

“He's (Parakhouski) very strong,” head coach Brad Greenberg said.  “And if he gets the ball in tight, all he has to do is gather himself and dunk the ball.  He was able to make finishing plays, and that's something that he's gotten better at doing.”

Laz Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had his second straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith Christian) scored 10 on 4-of-7 shooting that included two made three-pointers, highlighted by his shot off Parakhouski's pass that pushed Radford's lead back to double-digits at 68-58 with 4:43 left.

“I knew it was time for something to happen for us,” Smith said.  “Art was starting to get doubled and that shot just happened at the right moment of the game for us.”

“I know Blake is a good player, and one of our best shooters,” Parakhouski said.  “When I saw him coming, I kicked it out there for a shot and I trusted him to make it.”

“Blake made some big threes,” Greenberg said.  “He made shots and also made unselfish plays that showed a lot of toughness."

Five scorers reached double figures for UNC Asheville (3-9, 1-1), led by Matt Dickey's 15 off the bench.  D.J. Cunningham scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Despite outrebounding the Highlanders 37-33, forcing 19 turnovers to their 13 and shooting 47 percent in the second half (17 of 36), the Bulldogs couldn't overcome Radford's shooting and Parakhouski.

Of the game's 156 combined points, 76 came in the paint (RU, 42-34).  Radford got a combined 52 points from its frontcourt starters while UNC Asheville got 22.  The points came despite foul problems for both teams - Parakhouski was limited in the second half after getting his third personal foul three minutes into the period while Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) picked up his fourth personal with just under nine minutes left.  Cunningham fouled out for Asheville, picking up all of his personals in the final eight minutes.

Behind 50 percent shooting (14 of 28) and a lead as large as 14 points, the Highlanders had a 35-27 advantage at halftime.

Radford jumped on UNC Asheville prior to the first official timeout at 15:02, grabbing a 13-4 lead behind six points off three Asheville turnovers, Amir Johnson's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) game-opening three-pointer and Parakhouski's six points.

The margin grew to 16 when Lynch-Flohr's jumper gave the Highlanders a 24-8 lead at 11:59, but Asheville countered with a 19-9 run to close out the first half. 

Out of the intermission, Radford pushed its lead to 41-32 on a pair of Parakhouski free throws before Asheville scored eight straight points and used Quinard Jackson's bucket off a Cunningham steal to cut the deficit to one, 41-40, at the 15:21 mark.

Asheville took its first lead of the game with 7:43 left when Cunningham hit a pair of free throws to make it 56-55.   

“Asheville plays 40 minutes,” Greenberg said.  “They don't give up and they're an aggressive team. We knew that coming in and you have to get better defensively against them and you have to keep bringing pressure.”

On the ensuing trip down the floor, Trifunovic hit one of two at the free throw line to tie the game at 56-56 and Radford got the lead back and opened up its game-changing swing on Parakhouski's traditional three-point play with 6:52 remaining.

“After being predicted to win this conference, everyone's been trying to beat us,” Parakhouski said.  “Each game we win gives us a little more confidence and hopefully puts us another step closer to going back to the tournament.”

After being held without a three-pointer for the first time this season in a 27-point win over George Mason on Wednesday, the Highlanders connected on two of five chances in the first half and five of 13 in the game.

The Highlanders finish a three-game homestand and continue Big South play on Monday night by hosting Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Phillip Martin (Roanoke, Va./Roanoke Catholic) played in his first game following a first-half rib injury against No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 9 … Martin logged 15 minutes off the bench … Radford's last 3-0 start to Big South play came in 2000-01, when the Highlanders went 12-2 and won the regular season championship … The Highlanders improved to 16-10 in home league openers.