BOX SCORE

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Matt Dickey scored 26 points and UNC Asheville went 27-for-34 at the free throw line and shot 60 percent in the second half to win its seventh straight, a 92-84 victory over Radford in Big South men's basketball action Sunday at the Justice Center.

Dickey missed just two of his attempts from the field (6-8) and charity stripe (12-14) to lead five Bulldogs in double figures. Jaron Lane came off the bench to score a career-high 17 on 6 of 7 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 from line in 23 minutes. John Williams (13) and Chris Stephenson (10) also added double-digits for UNC Asheville (10-12, 7-4), which snapped a five-game losing streak to the Highlanders.

Radford cut the lead to a possession five times in the second half, including 60-57 with 6:38 left, but couldn't get over the hump as the Bulldogs stretched it back to double digits and didn't allow the Highlanders closer than six the rest of the way.

“We fought very hard and had chances to catch them in the second half,” said Radford head coach Brad Greenberg.

Five of the Bulldogs' 12 second-half field goals came from behind the three-point arc, with each coming during a five-minute stretch. For the game, UNCA made 9-for-20 from long range for a 45 percent clip.

For the third straight outing, Radford (11-10, 7-4 Big South) also placed five in double digits, led by Amir Johnson's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) season-high 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting. The 5-foot-9 point guard also added six assists and five rebounds.

Laz Trifunovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 16, Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith Christian) finished with 15, while Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) and Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) recorded double-doubles scoring 12 each, and grabbing 15 and 12 rebounds, respectively.

“I'm proud of both Art and Amir's efforts while battling illness and playing under the weather,” Greenberg said.

Despite the loss, Radford outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-37, including a commanding 21-6 advantage on the offensive end, which led to 17 second-chance points.

“We did an excellent job being physical and effective in the paint in the second half," Greenberg said. "That's how we have to play for 40 minutes."

UNC Asheville, which shot 50 percent (16-32) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, used a 16-3 run capped off by a Primm 3-pointer to grab its largest lead of the half, 23-12, with 8:10 left.

The Highlanders cut the deficit to 25-21 with consecutive buckets from Jeremy Robinson (Baltimore, Md./Tallahassee C.C.), including his first trey of the season, but UNCA responded with a 12-5 spurt to push its margin back to double figures (37-26) before heading into the locker room up, 37-28.

“Asheville shot the ball extremely well and their sagging man-to-man defense helped them grab a nine-point lead at the half,” Greenberg said.

Along with grabbing a team best nine boards, Williams blocked five shots to move into a tie on the Bulldogs' all-time list with 185.

UNC Asheville finished with 23 assists on 28 field goals, while the Highlanders handed out 20 on 30 buckets.

Radford will conclude its four-game road trip and stretch of six games in 13 days with a 7 p.m. tip at VMI  on Tuesday evening.