BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Playing in his first collegiate game, Tommy Spagnolo (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, to lead Radford to a 57-54 victory over Emory & Henry in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Dedmon Center.

In addition to Spagnolo, sophomore Gorkem Sonmez (Istanbul, Turkey/St. Mary's Ryken) also chipped in double figures with 10 points for the Highlanders.

PRESS CONFERENCE - Head coach Brad Greenberg

Radford played impressively on the defensive end forcing 30 turnovers (nine steals), which it converted into 32 points at the other end.

The Highlanders, who trailed the entire first half, opened the second stanza on a 10-0 run to go in front for good. Sonmez gave Radford its first lead, 27-25 with a layup and capped the spurt with consecutive baskets to push the advantage to nine, 34-25, with 15:01 to play.

The Wasps scored eight unanswered to cut the deficit to one, but the Highlanders stretched the margin back to nine on several occasions, including 56-47 on Johnathan Edwards' (Queens, N.Y./Tyler Junior College) layup at the 2:55 mark.

Despite committing 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action, Emory & Henry connected on 50 percent (11-22) of its attempts to lead 25-24 at the break.

Radford, which shot just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) and trailed by as many as six on separate occasions in the opening half, concluded the period on a 7-2 run, capped off by back-to-back Jeremy Robinson (Baltimore, Md./Tallahassee C.C.) buckets.

Spagnolo led all players at the half with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Bobby Stafford paced Emory & Henry with 12 points, while his backcourt mate Terrance Griggs added 11.

Radford finished the contest shooting 36.8 percent (21-for-57), while the Wasps shot 45.5 percent (20-for-44).

The Highlanders will conclude their brief season-opening homestand with a 4 p.m. contest against Methodist Sunday at the Dedmon Center.