GREEN SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS IN BLOWOUT WIN

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RADFORD, Va. - Javonte Green's bucket with 9:33 remaining in the first half Monday gave the junior standout his 1,000th career point in a Radford uniform, and he led the Highlanders to an 80-51 victory over Houghton with 22 points, nine rebounds, and four steals in just 20 minutes of work at the Dedmon Center.

After Houghton tied the game early at 3-3, Radford pulled away with an 18-5 run that put the game out of reach by the time Green reached his personal milestone. RU led by as many as 19 with 3:36 remaining in the first stanza, but let the Highlanders (Houghton) close to within just a dozen with :16 to play in the first half. Radford held a 37-24 edge at intermission, but the sloppy play down the stretch forced head coach Mike Jones to movtivate his team for the second half.

"I was not happy with how hard we were playing in the first half," Jones said. "So I let them know, and I thought we came out engaged and played pretty hard the first four minutes of the second half to set the tone for the rest of the game."

The Highlanders (Radford) answered. RU opened the second half with a 15-2 run and cruised the remainder of the game to push its overall record to 9-4 and 5-0 at the Dedmon Center. The victory was the third straight for Radford.

"At the end of the day, we have to really start to be consistent if we want to be a good team," Jones said. "Our goal is to be peaking at the end of the season and tonight was a good step in that direction."

Jones emptied his bench in the second half as no one played more than 23 minutes for the home team. R.J. Price was the only other RU player in double figures with 12. He dished out five assists and snagged three steals as well. Kion Brown chipped in with nine points and Jalen Carethers had eight of the bench.

Green finished 10-13 from the field and narrowly missed his second double-double of the season. As a team, RU shot 48.4 percent from the floor and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in building a 41-29 advantage in all on the glass. The defense forced 21 Houghton turnovers, which led to a 28-13 edge in points off miscues.

Houghton (3-6) had its three-game winning streak snapped in the loss. The Highlanders were led by Matthew Ball's 13 points. Brandon Camacho added 11.

Radford celebrates the New Year by hosting The Citadel on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. start at the Dedmon Center.

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