BOX SCORE

CLINTON, S.C. – Trailing 56-48 with just under five minutes to play, Presbyterian closed the contest on a 19-5 run to come from behind and edge Radford, 67-61, in Big South men's basketball action Saturday evening at the Templeton Center.

“We played a strong 36 minutes,” said Highlander head coach Brad Greenberg. “But committed some costly turnovers and missed some defensive assignments in the last 3:30 that cost us the game.”

The Blue Hose's game-changing spurt was highlighted by 12 of Khalid Mutakabbir's 17 points.

Walt Allen, who finished with 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, put Presbyterian (9-12, 3-6 Big South) up for good, 59-58, with his fourth trey of the contest.

“Mutakabbir made two clutch 3-pointers and Allen's deep three in the corner swung the moment in their favor,” commented Coach Greenberg.”

Jake Troyli also finished in double figures for the Blue Hose with a game-high 21 points, including a 9-of-10 showing at the charity stripe.

As a team, Presbyterian finished 13-of-14 at the line, while the Highlanders made just six of their 14 tries for a .429 clip.

The first 20 minutes of action featured three ties and 11 lead changes before Radford (4-15, 1-8 Big South) went to the break up, 37-36, thanks to a Jareal Smith (Savannah, Ga. / Johnson) triple with 19 seconds remaining.

The Highlanders, who got 21 points from their bench in the first half, shot a season-high 61.5 percent in the period, while Presbyterian hit on 56 percent of its attempts, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc.

Radford opened the second half on a 10-4 run and stretched its lead to as many as eight on several occasions, including 56-48 at the 4:58 mark.

Blake Smith (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) paced the Highlanders with 13 points, while Tolga Cerrah (Ankara, Turkey) added 10, hitting all five of his attempts.

“I thought Blake had a solid game and Tolga played well, but was limited due to foul trouble.”

Despite the setback, Radford shot 50 percent (26-52) and controlled the glass, 33-26.

“We shot the ball well, but didn't make the plays down the stretch,” Greenberg said.

Radford will play its next three at the Dedmon Center beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against Charleston Southern Thursday.