RADFORD ANSWERS THE CALL WITH HUGE ROAD WIN IN ROCK HILL, NO. 600 ALL-TIME

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ROCK HILL, S.C. - Radford (14-8, 4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak in impressive fashion with a wire-to-wire road victory at Winthrop, 76-64. The Highlanders used a 15-0 run to push a 3-2 lead to an 18-2 lead six minutes into the contest and never looked back in an important Big South win.

"Coming into this game, we knew what kind of challenge we were going to get," Radford head coach Mike Jones said. "I thought we came out focused and made it tough for them. The best part is that we were able to sustain it for 40 minutes."

The win was the 600th all-time in RU's 40-year basketball history.

The RU lead grew to as many as 20 with just under eight minutes to play in the first half, 28-8 after Brandon Holcomb hit a jumper in the paint to cap another run by the Highlanders, this one finished at a 10-2 advantage over a four minute span.

Winthrop bounced back late in the half to cut the margin to 10 by the intermission, 40-30. The Highlanders were led by Javonte Green's 10 points in the first half, which included two highlight reel dunks to silence the Eagle crowd inside the Winthrop Coliseum. Green finished the night with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

As expected, the hosts made a rally in the second half. The Eagles cut the RU lead to five, 42-37 within the first five minutes of halftime, but the answer came for Radford in the form of Ya Ya Anderson and Rashun Davis.

Davis sparked the Highlanders with a layup to immediately push the lead back to seven. His transition assist to a wide open Kyle Noreen a minute later gave the Highlanders a nine-point lead and put RU back at a comfortable margin.

After Keon Moore brought the Eagles back to within seven with a deep three, Anderson matched his trey on the offensive end which began a three-minute stretch where the sophomore sharpshooter outscored Winthrop 10-2 on his own to put the game on ice.

Anderson finished with a team-high 15 points. Davis and R.J. Price each added 11 for four players in double figures for the Highlanders. Noreen tallied eight points, and Jalen Cartethers added seven off the bench, all in the first half.

Joab Jerome led WU wih 17 points and eight caroms. Moore and Keon Johnson both added a dozen points for Winthrop (10-9, 4-3).

"This was the team that ended our season last year," Jones said. "So it was important for us to finish the job. Last year we didn't, but tonight we did."

With the win, Radford surpasses its win total from a year ago as Jones is in his third year rebuilding the Highlander program. RU returns home Saturday to face Gardner-Webb inside the Dedmon Center at 4:00 p.m.

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