RADFORD RETURNS HOME TO DEDMON SATURDAY VS. WINTHROP

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

RADFORD, Va. - The Radford men's basketball team returns to its home court Saturday as the Highlanders look to extend their winning streak at the Dedmon Center in a Big South matchup against longtime league rival, Winthrop. The Highlanders will battle the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. and have won two straight at home and are 6-2 on the season.

THE SERIES
♦ Radford leads the all-time series 31-30.
♦ Both teams are charter members of the Big South Conference. The series began in the 1984-85 season.
♦ The Highlanders are 17-10 all-time in games played at the Dedmon Center.
♦ These two teams have met eight times in the Big South Tournament with the Eagles holding a 6-2 advantage in those games.
♦ Eliminating the vacated RU victory in 2011, Winthrop has won four straight games in the series.
♦ Winthrop leads the series in games at Rock Hill (16-12) and on neutral courts (4-2).

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
♦ Winthrop enters Saturday's game at 8-10 overall and 2-4 in the Big South.
♦ The Eagles defeated Gardner-Webb at home on Wednesday, 61-55 and have won two out of their last three games.
♦ Winthrop is 2-7 on the road this season and 0-3 on the road in the conference.
♦ The Eagles own two of the Big South's more impressive non-conference victories on the season, however. WU defeated both Ohio (50-49) and Auburn (74-67) in its only two road victories of the season. The Eagles also lost by just 10 at nationally-ranked Ohio State.
♦ Winthrop is led in scoring by Derrick Henry, who is averaging 11.3 points per game for the season, but just 5.8 per game in the Big South slate. Gideon Gamble averages 10.1 for the season and 11.0 in conference games.
♦ WU ranks second in the league in scoring defense giving up just 61.8 points per game.
♦ The Eagles ranks last in the Big South in scoring offense (60.4 ppg).

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
♦ R.J. Price is averaging 17.7 points per game in conference play (6 games). Price is also shooting .810 from the free throw line (17-21) and .429 (21-49) from behind the three-point arc. He leads the team in assists as well (21).
♦ Javonte Green is averaging 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in Big South play.

STARTING LINEUP
♦ The Highlanders have used four different starting lineups this season.
♦ Blake Smith and Javonte Green have started every game this season.
♦ The current projected starting lineup of R.J. Price, Blake Smith, Kyle Noreen, Javonte Green, and Brandon Holcomb has started 11 games this season and been used in each of the last six games.

STATS NUGGETS
♦ The Highlanders lead the Big South in steals per game at 9.8. That ranks the team 10th in the nation in that category.
♦ Javonte Green leads the Big South in steals at 2.4 per game.
♦ Javonte Green recorded his fifth double-double this season with 13 points and 13 rebounds vs. Longwood. He now has 12 career double-doubles.
♦ R.J. Price leads the Big South in three-point field goals made per game at 3.0.
♦ R.J. Price scored a career-high 30 points vs. Longwood. Price became the first Highlander since Art Parakhouski (2/2/10 vs. VMI) to score 30 points in a game.
♦ R.J. Price's 30-foot buzzer beater for the win at Gardner-Webb gave the Highlanders their first close-game win under Mike Jones. The Highlanders are now 1-0 this season in games decided by 0-3 points and 1-2 overall under Jones.
♦ Brandon Holcomb grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Gardner-Webb.
♦ Blake Smith currently ranks fourth in career steals at RU with 178.
♦ Jalen Carethers has 13 career steals. All have come as a single theft in 13 separate games.

INDIVIDUAL BIG SOUTH STATS RANKINGS
♦ Javonte Green -- Steals per game (2.4 spg) [1st]; Field goal percentage (.502) [4th]; Scoring (13.4 ppg) [14th]; Rebounding (8.0 rpg) [4th]; Blocks (0.8 bpg) [12th]; Offensive rebounds (3.1 orpg) [t-2nd]; Defensive rebounds (4.9 drpg) [6th]
♦ R.J. Price -- 3-point field goals made per game (3.0 fgpg) [1st]; 3-point field goal percentage (.394) [4th]; Assists (2.8 apg) [14th]; Scoring (14.3 ppg) [12th].
♦ Jalen Carethers -- Blocks per game (1.0 bpg) [8th].
♦ Brandon Holcomb -- Blocks per game (0.9 bpg) [10th].

TIDBITS
♦ Radford is 6-2 at home this season and 2-1 at home in Big South contests.
♦ RU has won five straight overtime games dating to a 73-71 loss at Navy on 11/29/08.
♦ Radford has won nine straight home overtime games dating back to the home-opener of the 2002-03 season vs. Howard.

RU SPORTS RADIO NETWORK • BIG SOUTH NETWORK
♦ All home games are video streamed live on the Big South Network. The BSN is available at www.radfordathletics.com.
♦ Each Radford men's basketball game can be heard live in the New River Valley on the RU Sports Radio Network on the flagship, WRVU 89.9-FM and on the commercial affiliate, WBLB 1340-AM. The stream can also be heard world-wide on www.radfordathletics.com. Rick Watson handle the play-by-play for the Highlanders. Former Highlander Stephen Barber is the color analyst for home games, while Tom Galbraith adds color commentary for RU road games.

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