STEPHENSON AND ASHEVILLE HOLD OFF RADFORD, 66-56

BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Chris Stephenson scored a career-high 33 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead UNC Asheville past Radford, 66-56, in Big South men's basketball action Monday evening at the Dedmon Center.

The lone Bulldog in double figures, Stephenson made his first eight attempts from the floor to finish 12-of-19, while going 8-of-9 at the charity stripe.

After falling behind 50-39, Radford (3-13, 0-4 Big South) slowly chipped away at the deficit to tie the score, 54-54, on a Chance Smith (Roanoke, Va.) 3-pointer with 4:05 to go. The Bulldogs (8-6, 3-0), who were held without field goal for almost seven minutes in the second half, closed on a 12-2 run, including eight points from Stephenson.

R.J. Price (Richmond, Va., Atlee) led the Highlanders with 13 points, seven assists and four steals, while Javonte Green (Alberta, Va., Brunswick) added 11 points.

The Highlanders raced out to an 8-0 advantage, but UNC Asheville responded with a 20-3 streak, highlighted by 11 points from Stephenson.

The Bulldogs got 18 points from Stephenson in the first 20 minutes of action to lead 28-24 at the half.

Radford held Big South Preseason Player of the Year Matt Dickey and backcourt mate J.P. Primm to just six points each. The duo came in averaging a combined 30 points per contest.

UNC Asheville finished the game shooting 44.7 percent and just 2-of-10 from behind 3-point range, while the Highlanders shot 36.1 percent.

Radford will begin a three-game road trip Thursday with a 7 p.m. contest at Winthrop.

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