Men's Basketball 2/4/2016 3:24:00 PM

COASTAL MAKES FINAL BIG SOUTH VISIT TO DEDMON ON SATURDAY

Follow @RadfordMBB

RADFORD, Va. – Radford's men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday as it welcomes Coastal Carolina for the last time as a Big South opponent. The 12 p.m. game will be broadcast by American Sports Network and air on MASN locally.

The Highlanders (13-10, 6-5) bring a six-game home winning streak into the contest and have won all five of their conference games inside the Dedmon Center. With Winthrop's loss on Tuesday night, Coastal (14-8, 8-4) is now the hottest team in the league with six victories in a row. It will be RU's second straight contest against a team on a six-game win streak.

Radford will be looking to snap an eight-game losing streak to Coastal before the Chanticleers join the Sun Belt Conference next season.

SETTING THE STAGE

Series: Radford leads 34-24
Location: Dedmon Center
Time: 12:05 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video
Live Audio
Game Notes

LAST MEETING
Coastal built a 13-point second-half lead and held off a late Highlander rally to win 63-58 on Dec. 6 in Conway, S.C. Radford used a 16-6 run to get within three in the final minute and had possession, but a turnover ended the comeback bid.

The Highlanders scored a season-low 23 points in the opening half, shot just 35 percent from the field in the game and converted only 7 of 14 free throws. Cameron Jones hit five 3-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points, but Rashun Davis was limited to a season-low four points.

Coastal shot just 40 percent itself, but outscored RU 34-20 in the paint and had four players in double figures, including Jaylen Shaw and Marcus Freeman off the bench. Shaw had 12 points and five assists, while Freeman totaled 12 points and eight rebounds.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
Radford is 8-2 this season inside the Dedmon Center, and in its last four home games against Big South foes has averaged 79.5 points on 48 percent shooting, while allowing just 71.0 points and holding opponents to 42 percent.

Cameron Jones and Rashun Davis lead the Highlanders at 13.7 and 13.6 ppg, respectively on the season – ranking 11th and 12th in the conference. Jones is averaging 19.0 points over the last six games, while shooting 48 percent, including 45 percent from 3-point range. In conference play, he ranks eighth in scoring (15.6) and tied for second in 3-point percentage (41.8) and made 3-pointers (3.0).

Davis is now third in program history with 418 assists and up to 18th on RU's career scoring list with 1,182 points. He recently became the 14th player in Big South history to post at least 1,000 points, 400 assists and 150 steals. Davis' average of 4.8 assists per game still leads the conference and he ranks third in steals.

Ed Polite, Jr. has grabbed at least seven rebounds in seven straight games and is averaging 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks over the last six outings. In Big South games, the freshman ranks second in the league with 2.3 blocks and tied for third with 7.9 rebounds per contest. He also shares second in the league with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game on the season.

Brandon Holcomb is coming off a career-high 18-point performance and has put up 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds over the last five games. YaYa Anderson had scored 12.0 ppg and shot 53 percent (10 of 19) from behind the arc over his last four outings.

Radford trails second-place Coastal and Winthrop by one and half games and fifth-place Liberty and Gardner-Webb by a half-game in the conference standings. The Highlanders' next five games are all against teams above them.

SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA
Coastal extended its win streak with a 69-66 decision at Presbyterian Wednesday night, its third straight conference road victory. During its surge, Coastal has averaged 78.3 points per game while limiting opponents to 64.8 points and 37.4 percent shooting.

Four Chanticleers are averaging in double figures, led by junior guard Elijah Wilson, the reigning Big South Player of the Week. Wilson had tallied 18.6 ppg over a five-game stretch before going without a field goal against Presbyterian on 0 for 10 from the field. For the season, he is eighth in the conference at 14.1 ppg and tied for fifth with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game.

Senior forward Badou Diagne is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game inside, while junior Shivaughn Wiggins and Shaw have been a productive duo on the perimeter, contributing 11.6 and 11.5 ppg, respectively, and combining for 174 assists. After battling an injury early in the season, Wiggins has come on strong, averaging 16.9 points over the last four games – including a career-high tying 24 against Presbyterian – while connecting on 10 of his 15 3-point attempts. In conference play, the two are tied for second in the league with 4.2 assists per game.

Freeman has averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds in his two prior outings against Radford, but has missed the last three games with a foot injury.

In conference play, Coastal leads the league in field-goal percentage defense (40.6) and scoring margin (+6.6), while ranking second in points allowed (66.0) and 3-point percentage defense (30.3) and third in blocks. The Chanticleers also lead the conference in rebounding margin and rank third in field-goal percentage (46.0).

UP NEXT
Radford's challenging stretch continues with a trip to current Big South leader UNC Asheville for a primetime showdown on ESPNU Thursday night at 9 p.m.

Print Friendly Version