Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Caleb Tanner
Radford Athletics Communications
67
VMI VMI 1-5
74
Winner Radford RAD 3-4
VMI VMI
1-5
67
Final
74
Radford RAD
3-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
VMI VMI 33 34 67
Radford RAD 36 38 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

TANNER’S CAREER HIGH LIFTS RADFORD OVER VMI



Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 74, VMI 67
  • Records: Radford (3-4) | VMI (1-5)
  • Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – Virginia native Caleb Tanner scored a career-high 17 points, including 12 in the second half, to help Radford pull away to a 74-67 victory over VMI Wednesday night in the renewal of the teams' Commonwealth rivalry.
 
Tanner connected on 6 of 7 shots, including 4 of 5 from behind the arc, to surpass his previous high of 16 last season against Central Penn. The Floyd County product made all four of his attempts in the second half, including three from downtown, highlighting a 14-3 run that turned a tie game into a 53-42 Highlanders' lead with 10:55 to play. He hit treys on back-to-back possessions to get it started and capped the spurt with another. In between, Darius Bolstad contributed five points on an old fashioned three-point play and another layup.
 
Radford pushed its lead to a game-high 13-point advantage on two free throws by Ed Polite, Jr. with 7:21 left. VMI was able to slowly but steadily cut into the deficit, getting within six at 70-65 on a free throw by leading scorer QJ Peterson with 39 seconds on the clock. However, Christian Bradford converted three out of four free throws to seal the victory.
 
Both teams shot well the ball well in the first half and traded runs before Radford went into the locker room with a 36-33 lead. The Highlanders used a 15-6 spurt to open up a 25-16 edge. Donald Hicks and Tanner combined for 11 of the points, while Randy Phillips and Christian Lutete added layups. The Keydets, though, answered with a 17-8 run to tie the game. Peterson was responsible for 10 of the points, including a pair of 3-pointers. However, Hicks gave Radford the lead back with a 3-pointer of his own from the left wing right before the buzzer, giving him nine points in the half.
 
The victory ended a four-game losing streak at home to VMI and evened the all-time series between the former conference rivals at 21-21.
 
Radford will now move on a matchup against third-ranked North Carolina on Sunday afternoon as it makes its first-ever visit to Chapel Hill.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Ed Polite, Jr. tallied 11 points while again leading the team in rebounds with 10, notching his second double-double in three games and eighth of his career. He connected on 7 of 10 free throws while adding a team-high three steals.
  • Hicks finished with 11 points on 4 of 8 from the field – his third time in double figures on the season – while dishing out a team and career-high five assists.
  • Justin Cousin chipped in nine points and four assists, while Bradford also had four helpers. Radford totaled 17 assists on their 24 made field goals, the most this season against a Division I opponent.
  • The Highlanders' 50 percent shooting from the field in the game was also the highest of any of their six Division I games. They hit on 8 of 18 3-pointers as a team.
  • Led by Tanner's performance, Radford got 33 points off the bench, compared to just four from VMI. Bolstad (7), Lutete (5) and Devonnte Holland (4) provided the rest.
  • Peterson finished with a game-high 28 points on 10 of 21 from the field, but just 3 of 9 from 3-point range.
  • After VMI shot 50 percent in the first half, Radford limited the Keydets to just 38 percent over the final 20 minutes, including just 2 of 14 on 3-pointers
 
QUOTABLE
  • "It's good to start playing VMI again. It's been a good rivalry over the years so I was glad that (VMI coach Dan) Earl agreed to play the game. We knew that they were going to be tough to guard. Peterson is an unbelievable scorer and he got hot early in the game, even though we made it tough on him. I thought our defensive effort over the course of the game was really good and we really imposed our will, particularly in the second half to get ourselves a good, gutsy win." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
For the latest on Radford Athletics, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Highlander Happenings.
 
Print Friendly Version