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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Darius Bolstad
Radford Athletics Communications
58
Grace GRC 8-8
82
Winner Radford RAD 5-7
Grace GRC
8-8
58
Final
82
Radford RAD
5-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Grace GRC 32 26 58
Radford RAD 39 43 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

BALANCED RADFORD IMPROVES TO 4-0 AT HOME WITH 82-58 VICTORY



Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 82, Grace College 58
  • Records: Radford (5-7) | Grace College (8-8)
  • Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – Behind a balanced offensive attack and strong 10-minute stretch over the middle part of the game, the Radford men's basketball team capped off a perfect non-conference home season with an 82-58 victory over Grace College Friday afternoon at the Dedmon Center.
 
Ed Polite, Jr. tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and Darius Bolstad scored a career-high 12 points, along with grabbing eight rebounds to lead the victory. Justin Cousin added a game-high 16 points and Donald Hicks rounded four Highlanders in double figures with 13 points.
 
Perennial NAIA and NCCAA national tournament qualifier Grace hung tight early and used an 8-0 run to take a 24-17 lead just over the midway point of the first half. The Lancers still led by seven several minutes later, but that's when Radford took control, outscoring the visitors from Indiana 17-3 over the final 5:41 to take a 39-32 lead into the locker room. The spurt began with a 9-0 run on layups by Bolstad and Hicks, a 3-pointer by Hicks and an alley-oop dunk by Polite, Jr. off an assist by Christian Lutete on the fast break that put the Highlanders up 31-29.
 
After a timeout, Grace connected on its fifth 3-pointer of the half to go back ahead temporarily, but Cousin fed Polite, Jr. for a second straight alley-oop dunk, Lutete followed with back-to-back layups and Hicks capped the half with another.
 
Radford carried the momentum in the second half, beginning with 16-6 spurt in the opening 4:29 that pushed the advantage to 55-38. 3-pointers by Cousin both started and ended the run, and in between, Hicks added four points and three others chipped in field goals.
 
Grace cut the deficit to 13 with just over eight minutes to play, but the Highlanders finished strong, holding a 19-8 scoring advantage the rest of the way to set the 24-point final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Bolstad was a perfect 6 for 6 from the field, including 5 for 5 in the second half, to edge his previous career-best of 11 points last season against Siena. The eight rebounds were two shy of his career-high and he also added three blocks in the game.
  • Polite, Jr. tallied 11 of his points in the first half and connected on 6 of 7 shots overall, including a 3-pointer, while making both of his free-throw attempts. In addition, he chipped in four assists for the third time this season, tying his career-high.
  • The double-double was his third in four games and 11th as a Highlander.
  • Cousin shot 6 of 11, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, his fourth outing with three or more treys in the last five contests. He was 4 of 6 in the second half, including 3 of 3 from behind the arc.
  • Christian Bradford dished out a career-high seven assists as Radford tied a season-high with 22 on 33 made field goals. Cousin and Caleb Tanner each added three, also a career-best for the latter.
  • The Highlanders shot 53 percent in the second half, including 5 of 11 3-pointers, to finish at 49 percent overall for the game. 
  • Radford won the rebounding battle for the eighth time in nine games, holding a dominant 42-31 advantage. Lutete added six boards and Randy Phillips chipped in five, all on the offensive end.
  • Radford recorded a season-high nine steals – with six different players tallying at least one – and committed a season-low nine turnovers itself.
  • Brian Rodriguez, the team's lone senior member, tallied his first collegiate points, hitting a 3-pointer in the second half.
  • After Grace shot 44 percent, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, in the opening half, the Highlanders limited the Lancers to 36 percent in the second 20 minutes, including 0 for 7 behind the arc.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "We knew that Grace was a talented and had a lot of guys that could shoot and we knew if we didn't come with the right mentality, that they would gain confidence to begin the game and that's how it started. We were able to make an adjustment and Justin Cousin really lifted us up with his talk and his leadership by example and that really changed the complexion of the game. I was just really pleased with the way we played overall as a team through basically the last 30 minutes of the game. It's always good to win regardless of what the situation is, especially if we can have some positives coming out of the game in terms of how hard we play or our defensive principles. That's the kind of momentum we need to continue to build, and I think our guys are starting to buy into it and understand who we are and what we need to do in order to give ourselves a chance to win night in and night out." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
UP NEXT
  • Following the Christmas holiday, Radford will open Big South play against defending tournament champion UNC Asheville Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Dedmon Center.
 
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