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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Davis-20160218-1
69
Winner Radford RAD 15-12, 8-7 BSC
67
Liberty LIBERTY 12-16, 9-6 BSC
Winner
Radford RAD
15-12, 8-7 BSC
69
Final
67
Liberty LIBERTY
12-16, 9-6 BSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 30 39 69
Liberty LIBERTY 29 38 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CLUTCH PLAY FROM DAVIS, JONES LEADS RADFORD PAST LIBERTY, 69-67


 
GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 69, Liberty 67
  • Records: Radford (15-12, 8-7) | Liberty (12-16, 9-6)
  • Location: Vines Center| Lynchburg, Va.
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Rashun Davis did it again in the clutch for Radford, hitting a foul line jumper with 5.1 seconds left to cap a Highlanders' rally for a 69-67 victory at Liberty Thursday night.
 
Radford closed the game with a 10-2 run and Davis provided his fifth game-winning basket of the season – with four of them coming in the last 15 seconds, all on the road. He finished with 16 points, while Cameron Jones was also huge down the stretch and posted 19 points along with a career-high nine rebounds.
 
Liberty maintained a two-possession lead for most of the second half by making key shots each time the Highlanders got close. It was 65-59 with 2:30 to go before Jones drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. He followed up by making a baseline jumper while being fouled and hit the free throw to tie the game at 65-65 with 1:29 left.
 
Liberty leading scorer John Dawson quickly gave the Flames the lead back with a driving layup, but Ed Polite, Jr. answered for RU, converting a putback off the glass. Liberty then missed a 3-pointer to give Radford the ball back with 17 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, Davis started a drive, but pulled up at the left corner of the foul line and swished his shot.
 
The Flames then missed on a great opportunity to send the game to overtime. After advancing the ball to halfcourt and calling timeout, they threw over the top to center Evan Maxwell, but his point blank layup rimmed out as the buzzer sounded, giving the Highlanders another dramatic win, one game after a heartbreaking loss.
 
Liberty led for most of the first half after going on an early 10-0 run, but Radford battled back with a 12-4 run to even the game at 24-24. The Highlanders then scored the half's last four points, capped by a Jones dunk off a pass from Davis following a steal to put RU up 30-29 at the break. The Flames quickly spurted back ahead to start the second half.
 
Radford is back at home on Saturday to host High Point for another key game at 4:30 p.m., in the nightcap of a doubleheader with the RU women facing Longwood.
 
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Jones shot 7 of 15 from the field, while Davis connected on 7 of 14 shots. The duo also combined for eight assists.
  • As a team, Radford shot 56 percent in the second half, including 5 of 9 from 3-pointers, to finish at 51 percent overall for the game.
  • Davis moved up to 13th in program history with 1,253 points. He also added two steals, giving him 163 for his career, ninth-most all-time for the Highlanders.
  • Polite, Jr. totaled 10 points and eight rebounds, while recording two blocks to give him 50 for the season tying Art Parakhouski for sixth-most in RU single-season history.
  • Christian Lutete came off the bench to score nine points, including seven in the second half. He and Justin Cousin each hit key 3-pointers in the final 11 minutes to keep the Highanders close.
  • Liberty shot 50 percent in the second half and 45 percent for the game. The Flames had been averaging 11 3-pointers during their seven-game winning streak and totaled nine, but on 24 attempts.
  • Radford countered by getting the better at the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 18, while Liberty was just 6 of 10.
  • The Highlanders also outscored the Flames 34-24 in the paint, despite being outrebounded by three.
  • RU held the lead for just 3:44 in the game, while Liberty was in front for over 33 minutes.
  • The Highlanders have now won three of their last four road conference games and swept Liberty in a season series for the second time in three years and third time since 2006.
  • Dawson scored a game-high 22 points, but Ryan Kemrite was the only other Flame in double figures with 10.
  • Senior YaYa Anderson did not play in the game after being suspended indefinitely by head coach Mike Jones for a violation of team rules.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "It was a tough way to lose on Saturday, but we've been on the other end of that type of game and we had another one tonight. We put the ball in the right hands and Rashun made the big shot. But I thought it was a great team effort defensively tonight. Guys played with passion for the whole 40 minutes and we came away with a tough, hard-fought win. They hit a bunch of big shots, but we got just enough stops near the end when we needed. I'm just really proud of the effort they put out tonight. They cost us a league championship last year with the loss here so it's sweet to get this win." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
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