RADFORD BUMPED FROM BIG SOUTH TOURNEY BY UNC ASHEVILLE

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CONWAY, S.C. - Radford's run in the Big South Tournament came to an end in Friday's quarterfinal round as UNC Asheville (17-14) shot 62 percent from the floor and defeated the Highlanders 96-87 at the HTC Center. RU trailed by as many as 15 in the contest, but made a second-half rally to close to within four points, but the Bulldogs held on and advanced. Rashun Davis led Radford (21-12) with 22 points and six assists.

Andrew Rowsey scored 22 in the first half and led UNCA on a 13-2 run over a three minute span midway through the first half which broke open a tie game, and the Highlanders would never fully recover. The Bulldogs carried a 47-36 advantage into the intermission.

Kion Brown kept the Highlanders within striking distance with nine of his career best matching 14 in the first half. Javonte Green also added nine of his 13 in first 20 minutes, but was saddled for a large portion of the game in foul trouble. Green played only 23 minutes and fouled out of the contest.

Asheville had four players combine for 84 of its 96 points, including 29 from Jaron Lane and 27 from Rowsey. D.J. Cunningham scored 18 and grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds. Sam Hughes added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

R.J. Price was the fourth Highlander in double figures with 15. His three with 5:36 to play got RU back to within five at 73-68. Kyle Noreen's trey cut the lead to 77-73 with 3:50 remaining, but the Highlanders would gain no further ground.

UNCA scored nine of its final 11 points from the free throw line in the last two minutes and steadily built its lead back to double digits. The Bulldogs hit 25-30 from the charity stripe compared to 9-13 for Radford.

Radford shot 52 percent from the floor for the game and forced 19 Asheville turnovers, but the Bulldogs dominated the glass 33-23.

"Our guys never quit," Radford head coach Mike Jones said. "There were a few moments in the first half when they were hitting every shot they put up, that our guys could have folded, and they didn't. The bottom line is we can't give up 96 points and let a team shoot as well as they did and expect to win."

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