BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Art Parakhouski's (Minsk, Belarus) 15th double-double (26 points, 15 rebounds) of the season wasn't enough as Liberty used a lengthy second-half run to knock off Radford 60-55 in Big South men's basketball action Saturday at the Dedmon Center.

After Radford (10-8, 6-3 Big South) pushed its lead to 37-30 on a Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C. / United Faith Christian Academy) jumper 4:30 into the second half, the Flames quickly erased the deficit with a 17-4 run that put them up for good.

Parakhouski made 10 of his 15 tries at the line and connected on 8 of 15 attempts from the field to finish with his 20th straight double figure performance and 15th 20-point outing of the season.

Along with shooting only 33 percent for the evening (20 of 61), the Highlanders made just one of their 22 3-point attempts.

Besides Parakhouski, another bright spot for Radford was its work on the glass as it outrebounded the Flames 45-31, including an 18-3 difference on the offensive end.

“We played hard and did an outstanding job on the glass,” said Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “But didn't have the offensive balance you need and couldn't buy a bucket from the outside.”

Trailing 49-43 with just over six minutes to play, the Highlanders closed to within two, 49-47, thanks to four straight points from Smith, but that's as close as they would get.

With 2:34 remaining, Evan Faulkner (Sandy Hook, Ky. / Elliott County) connected on Radford's only trey of the contest to make it a one-possession contest, 53-50.

“We need to be able to stretch a zone defense by making more than one of 22 from behind the arc,” Greenberg said.

The Highlanders cut the lead to three again, 58-55, on Parakhouski's three-point play with 21 seconds remaining, but Jeremy Anderson hit two free throws for a 60-55 advantage with 15 seconds left.

Evan Gordon and Jesse Sanders scored 16 points each to lead the way for Liberty (10-11, 5-4). Sanders, who went 5 of 6 from the field and charity stripe, also added six rebounds, six assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action.

Despite shooting just 31 percent in the first 20 minutes of action, Radford led 31-28 at the break.

Radford used a 15-4 streak, highlighted by six consecutive points by Laz Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) to grab the largest lead of the contest by either team, 25-17.

The Highlanders outrebounded Liberty 28-15 in the first half, including a 13-0 margin on the offensive end that turned into 13 second-chance points.

Parakhouski led all players at intermission with 14 points and 11 boards (seven offensive), while going 8 of 11 at the charity stripe.

Radford will continue its stretch of five games in 10 days with a 7 p.m. contest at James Madison Monday evening.