","thumbnailUrl":null,"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Radford University Athletics","jobTitle":null},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Radford University Athletics","url":"https://radfordathletics.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://radfordathletics.com/images/logos/site/site.png","width":50,"height":50}},"about":null,"speakable":{"type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":["article-content","article-headline"]}} BROWN, OWENS LIFT RADFORD TO 69-67 WIN OVER UNC WILMINGTON - Radford University Athletics
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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Brown-20151219-1
67
UNC Wilmington UNCW 5-3
69
Winner Radford RAD 7-5
UNC Wilmington UNCW
5-3
67
Final
69
Radford RAD
7-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNC Wilmington UNCW 34 33 67
Radford RAD 31 38 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

BROWN, OWENS LIFT RADFORD TO 69-67 WIN OVER UNC WILMINGTON



GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 69, UNC Wilmington 67
  • Records: Radford (7-5) | UNC Wilmington (5-3)
  • Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Kion Brown hit a jump hook in the lane as the final buzzer sounded to lift the Radford men's basketball team to its third last-second victory of the season Saturday, a 69-67 decision over UNC Wilmington at the Dedmon Center.
  • Brown made his last two shots in the final minute, both putting the Highlanders in front, to cap off a career-high 17-point performance. He scored from the left block to make 67-65 with 39 seconds to go.
  • UNCW tied it on a driving layup by Craig Ponder with 18 seconds to play and Radford called timeout.
  • Brown then got the ball on the right block with the clock quickly trickling down and got his left-handed shot to drop in off the rim. Officials reviewed the play and confirmed the game-winning basket.
  • Radford trailed by as many as nine early in the second half, but mounted a charge led by Brown and fellow senior Taj Owens to build a seven-point lead with just over three minutes to play.
  • UNCW then scored seven straight points to even it up before Brown's clutch final minute helped RU hold on.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Owens joined Brown in posting a career-high scoring performance, tallying 16 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including both 3-point attempts. He also was 4 for 4 at the free-throw line and dished out a team-best three assists.
  • Brown finished 7 of 10 from the field and converted three of his four free throws, while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds – just missing his third career double-double. In addition to scoring the last four points for RU, he started the game with the team's first six.
  • Radford was 0 for 9 on 3-point attempts in the first half and misfired on its first three in the second half, before making six of its last nine the rest of the way. Owens broke the ice when he connected at the 14:50 mark of the second half, starting a run of four straight makes, with two by freshman Caleb Tanner around one by Cameron Jones that gave RU a 51-49 edge. Justin Cousin made one that broke a 57-57 tie, and Owens hit his second to make it 63-58 with 4:13 left.
  • The back-to-back 3's by Owens and Tanner capped a 10-2 run over a three-minute span that cut the 40-31 deficit down to one.
  • With leading scorers Rashun Davis and Jones limited to 11 combined points, the Highlanders' bench again came up big, totaling five 3-pointers and outscoring UNC Wilmington's reserves, 37-23. Along with Tanner's career-high six points, Ed Polite, Jr. had six points and seven rebounds, and Darius Bolstad chipped in six points.
  • UNCW came into the game ranked third in the nation in steals while forcing over 20 turnovers per game, but Radford turned it over just eight times and the Seahawks got just five steals and were limited to eight points off turnovers.
  • The Highlanders endured another cold shooting start at home, missing on 16 of their first 21 attempts, but came on strong late in the first half, connecting on nine of their last 12. The 42 percent shooting and 31 points were both season-highs in opening halves at home.
  • Despite getting hot from behind the arc in the second half, Radford made just 13 of 33 attempts from the field in the last 20 minutes and finished at 41 percent for the game.
  • RU improved to 3-1 this season in games decided by three points or less.
  • The Highlanders overcame UNCW holding advantages of 42-37 in rebounding, 44-34 in points in the paint and 16-6 in second-chance points.
  • Chris Flemmings, UNC Wilmington's top scorer on the year despite coming off the bench, scored 16 points to lead four Seahawks in double figures. They shot 43 percent in the game, but were just 2 of 13 on 3-pointers.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "We knew it was going to be a tough game from beginning to the end. They're one of the leading teams in the country in turning you over and we really took care of the ball and that was the key to the game. On the other end, we got the ball inside and were able to score in the post. Kion pretty much established that early and we kept trying to go inside. Both plays on the last two possessions were designed to go inside to him and he delivered. He's always been very confident in his ability to score on the block and today was one of those times when he got a lot of opportunities. We had a lot of guys make 3-pointers in pressure situations in the second half and that was huge. I was really proud of the way they handled their limited minutes, and when their name was called they were ready." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford makes its final non-conference roadtrip of the season as it heads to Chattanooga for a rare Tuesday afternoon matchup.
  • Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at McKenzie Arena.
  • At 9-2, Chattanooga is off to its best start since 2002-03.

 
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