STREAKING TEAMS SQUARE OFF SATURDAY AT WINTHROP

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RADFORD, Va. – Two of the hottest Big South men's basketball teams meet for a showdown on Saturday as Radford travels to Rock Hill, S.C. to face Winthrop. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be shown on ESPN3.

The Highlanders (13-9, 6-4) have won three straight and four of their last five, while Winthrop (15-6, 7-3) is riding a six-game win streak to pull into a share of first place. The Eagles share the top spot with High Point and UNC Asheville, with Radford and Coastal Carolina just a game behind.

The contest is the first of four straight RU games on regional or national broadcasts.

SETTING THE STAGE

Series: Radford leads 35-32
Location: Winthrop Coliseum (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Time: 4 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video (ESPN3)
Live Audio
Game Notes

LAST MEETING
Radford was unable to defeat Winthrop a third time last year as the Eagles held on for a 67-66 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament in Conway, S.C.

The Highlanders had won the regular-season meetings by eight and seven points, but struggled shooting from the field (39 percent), behind the arc (6 for 22) and at the free-throw line (18 for 29). Winthrop took the lead for good with 4:50 left and made 18 of 20 free throws in the second half to maintain it.

Javante Green led Radford with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while YaYa Anderson scored 16 points and Rashun Davis had 13. Seniors Keon Moore and Andre Smith combined for 39 points for Winthrop. Keon Johnson, the Eagles' leading scorer this season, tallied 12 in the game.

The Highlanders shot 52 percent and 46 percent in the regular-season victories, part of four straight in the series.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
On its longest winning streak of the season, Radford is averaging 79.2 points over the last five games, with Cameron Jones leading the way. He has scored 20.2 ppg in that stretch to take over the team-high for the season with 13.9, ninth in the Big South. He also averaging 5.6 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field, including 20 of 43 3-point attempts. In conference play, Jones ranks sixth in scoring (15.9), second in made 3-pointers (3.2) and third in 3-point percentage (42.1).

Rashun Davis, the Big South's assist leader at 4.8 per game, needs just four more dimes to tie Whit Holcomb-Faye for third in RU history with 417. Davis is also just four points from moving into 20th on the program's scoring list. He remains third in the Big South in steals per game (1.8) – tied for first in conference games (2.3) – while ranking 12th in scoring.

Coming off his fifth double-double on Wednesday, Ed Polite, Jr. has totaled 51 rebounds over the last five games and now ranks fifth in the Big South at 7.2 per outing and third in conference play at 8.0. His 3.45 offensive boards per game at third in the league and third among freshmen in the NCAA. He also stands second against Big South foes with 2.1 blocks per game and had at least three in the four of the last five games.

With his six 3-pointers against Longwood, YaYa Anderson now has 215 for his career and is five away from tying for fifth in program history. He also sits 23rd in career scoring. Brandon Holcomb has totaled at least eight points and six rebounds in each of the last four contests, while Kion Brown hit 10 of his 12 field-goal attempts in the last two games.

Radford leads the Big South in overall rebounding (39.5) and on the offensive end (13.9), while ranking second in blocks (4.6).

Saturday's game begins a key stretch for the Highlanders as their next four games will come against teams they currently trail or are tied with at the top of the league.

SCOUTING WINTHROP
Winthrop's six victories in row have come by an average of 17.6 points, with the smallest margin 13 at Gardner-Webb and the largest a 27-point thumping of Charleston Southern Wednesday night in Rock Hill, S.C. The Eagles tied a school record with 17 3-pointers in the game, including a 10 for 13 performance by Johnson.

Johnson tallied a career-high 36 points against CSU and now ranks second in the Big South for the season at 20.0. In conference play, he leads the way with 20.9 per contest, while shooting 52 percent from the floor. Johnson is hitting at a 44 percent clip from behind the arc on the season and has had 10 games with 20 or more points.

With Johnson (2nd), graduate transfer Jimmy Gavin (5th) and sophomore forward Xavier Cooks (10th), Winthrop has three of the top 10 scorers in the Big South and leads the conference with 83.0 points per game. Gavin is averaging 16.8 ppg in his first season for the Eagles after playing at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside the previous two years. He is hitting 41.5 percent of his 3-pointers and scored 38 points against N.C. State in November.

Cooks is scoring 13.7 ppg, while leading the team with 6.5 rebounds and ranking fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage (51.2). He also contributes defensively with 30 blocks and a team-high 20 steals.

In conference play, the Eagles stand first in points (79.7), scoring margin (+6.6) and field-goal percentage (50.0), while ranking second in 3-point percentage. Overall, Winthrop is 18th nationally in scoring, 20th in blocks per game and 22nd in field-goal percentage. Winthrop blocks a league-high average of 5.6 per game, led by redshirt sophomore Duby Okeke, the Big South leader with 53 and 10th in the nation at 2.9 per game.

The Eagles are 10-1 at home this season and have won 16 of their last 17 overall, with the lone loss coming to Campbell on Dec. 31.

UP NEXT
Radford has a mid-week bye before returning to action next Saturday at home against Coastal Carolina. Tipoff inside the Dedmon Center is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will air on American Sports Network.

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