BOX SCORE

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A season-high 16 points from Tolga Cerrah (Ankara, Turkey) wasn't enough as Radford fell to UNC Wilmington 64-50 in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday evening at Trask Coliseum.

“Tolga played a real strong game,” said Radford (2-8) head coach Brad Greenberg. “I also thought Blake [Smith] had a solid all-around game.”

Cerrah finished 6-of-10 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds to lead three Highlanders in double figures. Johnathan Edwards (Queens, N.Y./Tyler Junior College) added 11 points and seven boards, while Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) had 10 points, four assists and six of his club's 10 steals.

After the Highlanders used a 12-3 run to cut a 10-point deficit to one, 34-33, the Seahawks responded with a 22-7 spurt, highlighted by five 3-pointers, to stretch the lead to double digits, where it would stay the rest of the way.

“We cut it to one on a terrific give-and-go for a dunk by Blake, but they responded,” Greenberg said.

Chad Tomko led the Seahawks with 16 points, including a 6-of-6 showing at the line. Backcourt mates Donte Morales and Tanner Milson recorded 15 each for the Seahawks, who shot 48.9 percent and were 8-for-19 from behind the arc.

Despite shooting 33.3 percent (6-18) and committing 11 first-half turnovers, Radford hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to trail by just five at the break, 26-21.

UNC Wilmington (5-4), which built its lead to as many as seven on separate occasions in opening half, turned the Highlander miscues into 13 points.

As a team, the Highlanders shot just 37.2 percent (16-43) from the floor.

“Our guys played hard and we're improving in certain areas. But we're still struggling to score enough points to win.”

The Highlanders return to action Wednesday evening at nationally-ranked Florida. Radford's first-ever meeting with the Gators will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast at 7 p.m.