BOX SCORE

CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina extended its winning streak to nine with a 77-59 victory over Radford in Big South men's basketball action Friday afternoon at Kimbel Arena.

“Coastal is a strong veteran team that is the class of our league right now,” said Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “We have to be precise on both ends of the floor against a team of this caliber, and we weren't today.”

The Chanticleers placed four players in double figures, including 18 from Mike Holmes and Desmond Holloway. Anthony Raffa finished with 14 and Danny Nieman had 13. Chad Gray led all players with 11 boards for Coastal.

Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) paced the Highlanders with 12 points, while Evan Faulkner (Sandy Hook, Ky./Elliott County) and Jareal Smith (Savannah, Ga./Johnson) added 11 each. Jareal Smith also finished with a game-high five assists.

“The effort of our freshmen was encouraging.”

Trailing 22-21, Coastal Carolina (11-2, 2-0 Big South) closed the first half on a 15-3 run capped off by a Raffa midcourt shot at the buzzer to give his club a 37-24 lead at the break.

After the Chanticleers raced out to a 9-0 advantage, Radford (3-10, 0-3) responded with an 18-6 run highlighted by eight points from Blake Smith, to grab its first lead of the contest, 18-15.

“I thought we came out and played the first 15 minutes very competitively,” Greenberg said.

The Highlanders committed 14 of their 21 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action.

Coastal Carolina used a 19-5 run early in the second half to push its lead to as many as 23 (59-36) and put the game out of reach.

The Chanticleers finished the contest shooting 48.4 percent, including 16-of-30 (.533) in the final stanza, while holding Radford to just 35 percent.

Radford will conclude its trip to the Palmetto State with a 4:30 p.m. contest at Charleston Southern Sunday.