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Justin Cousin defense
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56
ELON ELON 6-4
68
Winner Radford RAD 4-5
ELON ELON
6-4
56
Final
68
Radford RAD
4-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
ELON ELON 27 29 56
Radford RAD 31 37 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

RADFORD SHUTS DOWN ELON TO CLAIM 68-56 HOME WIN



Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 68, Elon 56
  • Records: Radford (4-5) | Elon (6-4)
  • Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – Led by a stifling defensive performance and a big double-double from Ed Polite, Jr., the Radford men's basketball team notched a 68-56 non-conference victory over Elon Saturday afternoon, improving to 3-0 this season in the Dedmon Center.
 
The Highlanders held Elon to its lowest scoring output of the season and 26 points below its 82-plus average on the campaign, while leading most of the game and using a run midway through the second half to pull away.
 
Ed Polite, Jr. posted his third double-double of the year, scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds – one shy of his career-high. Justin Cousin shared game-high honors with 14 points, while adding a team-best four assists.  
 
Radford got off to a good start, using a 12-2 run to build a 19-9 lead just over 10 minutes into the game. Cousin and Lutete bookended the spurt with 3-pointers, and in between Polite, Jr. scored six straight points, including back-to-back offensive rebound putbacks. The lead was still nine before the Phoenix scored eight of the last 11 points of the half to get within 31-27.
 
Elon then started the second half with a 7-0 run and grabbed a 39-35 edge at the 15:14 mark. However, the Highlanders held the Phoenix to just two points over the next eight-plus minutes, turning the deficit into a seven-point lead. Elon missed 11 straight shots at one point and connected on just 1 of 16 attempts overall during the span.
 
Meanwhile, Cousin got Radford's offense going with a 3-pointer and a jumper by Caleb Tanner put the Highlanders in front to stay at 40-39. Tanner and Christian Lutete followed with treys and Christian Bradford added a jumper to make it 48-41 with 7:46 to go. Elon got no closer then five the rest of the way, as Radford was nearly perfect at the free throw line to seal the victory, going 16 for 17 in the game, including 14 of 15 in the second half.
 
After completing exams during the week, Radford returns to action next Saturday against another CAA opponent, traveling to 2016 NCAA Tournament participant UNC Wilmington for a 2 p.m. game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Elon came into the game shooting 48 percent from the field, but was held to 33 percent in the game by the Highlanders.
  • In the second half, the Phoenix hit on just 30 percent overall (12 for 40 overall) and only 3 of 13 from 3-point range.
  • Darius Bolstad led the defensive effort with a career-high six blocks as Radford posted a season-best nine rejections. Polite, Jr. added two and Sterling Christy recorded the other.
  • Offensively, Radford was over 40 percent from the field in each half, finishing at 41.5 for the game, including 8 of 23 3-pointers.
  • Polite, Jr. was just 3 of 5 from the field, but connected all eight of his free throws, the second time he has gone 8 for 8 at the line this season, and the third time he has made at least seven charity shots in a game.
  • In addition to his ninth career double-double, he recorded his third double-digit rebounding game of the season, with five of his 15 boards coming on the offensive end.
  • Polite, Jr. was backed by a team effort on the glass, as four different players each grabbed four rebounds and another had three. That helped Radford to a 44-35 overall advantage and a 15-6 edge in second-chance points.
  • Cousin shot 3 for 6 from the field and 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, while hitting 5 of his 6 free throws.
  • Tanner chipped in seven points, while Bradford, Donald Hicks and Lutete each contributed six.
  • Elon had three players in double figures, led by Dainian Swoope's 13, but just four Phoenix tallied more than five points. Their top two scorers, Tyler Seibring and Luke Eddy combined for just 14 on 5 of 20 from the field.
  • Prior to Saturday, Elon had been held under 70 points just once.
  • Radford also defended without fouling, allowing just five free-throw attempts to the Phoenix.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "I honestly didn't know what to expect coming into the game today. The last two days of practice I think our guys' minds were on the last couple of days of classes and their schoolwork. But when they came in this morning for shootaround, I thought the spirit was terrific and it carried over into the game. That was one of the best defensive performances I've been a part of here. To hold that team to 56 points was really impressive by our team. I was really proud of the way they held each other accountable during the game, reminding each other of the things they needed to do, and our talk was as good as it's been in a long time with all the screening action that Elon does in their motion offense. Just an overall 40-minute performance defensively that I haven't seen in a long time." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
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