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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Sterling Christy
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57
Radford RAD 4-7
84
Winner West Virginia WVU 10-1
Radford RAD
4-7
57
Final
84
West Virginia WVU
10-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 22 35 57
West Virginia WVU 53 31 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

NO. 11 WEST VIRGINIA DOWNS RADFORD BEHIND LATE FIRST HALF SURGE



Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: West Virginia 84, Radford 57
  • Records: Radford (4-7) | West Virginia (10-1)
  • Location: WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W. Va.
 
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Radford men's basketball team played No. 11 West Virginia close to the midway point of the first half Tuesday night and held the scoring advantage in the second half. However, a dominating final 10 minutes of the opening stanza by the Mountaineers was the difference in an 84-57 victory.
 
Unlike against UNC Wilmington on Saturday when an early onslaught doomed the Highlanders, Radford kept up with West Virginia for the first 10 minutes despite the Mountaineers hitting 8 of their first 11 shots. The Highlanders countered by
making 6 of their first 12 attempts, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. Five different players had baskets and Justin Cousin connected on two of the 3-pointers, with the second banking in from the wing to make it a 23-18 game at the 10:18 mark.
 
However, Radford was held scoreless for the next 7:13 on the clock as West Virginia used a 23-0 run to break it open. After handling the Mountaineers' full-court pressure relatively well early on, the Highlanders committed several turnovers to give the home team momentum and two timeouts called by head coach Mike Jones weren't able to slow it down.
 
West Virginia went on to post a 30-4 scoring advantage over the final 9:44 to build a 53-22 halftime lead. Radford connected on just 2 of 10 shots in the last 10 minutes, while 13 turnovers led to 23 Mountaineer points in that span.
 
After the break, the Highlanders battled throughout the second half and outscored West Virginia 35-31, holding the Mountaineers to just 39 percent shooting.
 
Radford will now return home to close out their non-conference schedule against Grace College Friday at 3 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Cousin finished with a team-leading 12 points, while hitting 4 of 6 shots behind the arc.
  • Caleb Tanner added 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth time this season and seventh time in his career.
  • Sterling Christy grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, with six coming in the second half. His previous high was five on two occasions last season.
  • Led by Christy's effort, Radford outrebounded the Mountaineers 40-37 in the game. Randy Phillips added six boards and Ed Polite, Jr. totaled five.
  • Polite, Jr. was limited to five points, but tied a career-high with four assists, while adding two steals.
  • Radford shot 36 percent in the first half and 37 percent in the second.
  • After 22 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes that led to 31 West Virginia points, the Highlanders again cut down the miscues after halftime, with just seven turnovers.
  • Esa Ahmad led West Virginia with 17 points, while Jevon Carter added 15. The duo was a combined 11 of 13 shooting.
  • The Mountaineers totaled 46 of their points in the paint but finished at 49 percent from the field after hitting on 59 percent (20 of 34) in the first half.
  • Radford held West Virginia eight points below its season average and it was just its second win of the season with a margin less than 30.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "Our guys were following the gameplan and executing early on. We were breaking the press and getting the kind of shots that we wanted. But they are so relentless with their depth and their size, length and athleticism that it took a toll and I saw our guys drop their heads a little. But we were able to regroup out of the locker room at halftime. Our guys were telling each other to keep fighting and get back to doing what we do and that's what you've got to do. We talked about handling the press better than we did against UNC Wilmington. Even though we had more turnovers, I thought there were a lot more positive possessions where we attacked, got the ball where we wanted and got some opportunities. So there was a growth from one game to the next and that's what you're looking for. " ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
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