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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Ed Polite, Jr.
Red Rocket Productions & Photography
72
Winner Radford RAD 9-10, 4-3
60
Longwood LWU 6-12, 3-4
Winner
Radford RAD
9-10, 4-3
72
Final
60
Longwood LWU
6-12, 3-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 31 41 72
Longwood LWU 26 34 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

POLITE, JR. SURPASSES 400 REBOUNDS IN 72-60 ROAD VICTORY



Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 72, Longwood 60
  • Records: Radford (9-10, 4-3) | Longwood (6-12, 3-4)
  • Location: Willett Hall | Farmville, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – Behind a strong team performance, Radford's men's basketball team snapped a two-game skid and got back over .500 in conference play with a 72-60 road victory at Longwood Thursday night.
 
Justin Cousin led the Highlanders in scoring for the third straight game, tallying 18 points. However, he was complemented by Ed Polite, Jr.'s third consecutive double-double and eighth on the season as he totaled 13 points and 15 rebounds. The sophomore also surpassed 400 rebounds for his career.
 
Donald Hicks and Christian Bradford also scored in double figures, contributing 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Radford took the lead midway through the first half and held it the rest of the game.
 
Longwood got off to a hot start hitting five of its first seven shots, with Darrien Allen scoring eight points for a 13-5 lead in the first 4:33. Radford struggled from the behind the arc early, but scored 10 of its first 12 points in the paint to stay close.
 
Trailing 18-12, the Highlanders then held Longwood to just two points over a seven-minute stretch en route to outscoring the home team 19-8 over the final 12 minutes of the half. Christian Lutete broke the 3-point ice to start a 16-4 spurt to take the lead that included a Polite, Jr. tip-in (on his 400th rebound), three points by Hicks, a jumper by Sterling Christy and a 3-pointer by Cousin. Christian Bradford capped the scoring in the half, driving for a layup after Christy grabbed an offensive rebound.
 
The teams traded baskets early in the second half before a personal 8-0 run by Caleb Tanner in a span of 1:04 that included back-to-back 3-pointers and pushed the lead into double figures at 48-35. Longwood responded quickly with seven straight points to get within six, but wouldn't get any closer over the final 10 minutes of the game. A big 3-pointer by Cousin and baskets by Hicks and Polite, Jr. made it a 59-47 margin with 7:18 to play. Hicks later added another jumper, Cousin hit his fourth trey and Bradford connected on four straight free throws down the stretch to seal it.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Polite, Jr.'s, 15-rebound output was one shy of his career high and his third 15-plus performance of the season. He now has 410 rebounds in 49 career games. Radford all-time leading rebounder Javante Green reached the 400 mark in his 56th game as a Highlander.
  • Polite, Jr. was just 3 of 4 from the field, but made 7 of 9 free throws, while totaling two steals, one assist and the team's only block
  • Cousin scored 11 of his points in the second half and connected on 6 of 14 shots in the game, including 4 of 9 from behind the arc. He has totaled 14 3-pointers in the last three games and it was his fourth conference contest with at least four.
  • Cousin also added six rebounds and a team-high three assists.
  • Hicks missed all four 3-point attempts, but was 5 of 8 inside the arc, while Bradford hit 7 of 8 from the free-throw line.
  • Tanner's second-half run accounted for all of his eight points.
  • Radford, the conference's best rebounding team, dominated one of the league's worst, finishing with a 43-27 advantage, outrebounding its opponent for the 11th straight game.
  • The Highlanders totaled 16 offensive rebounds and turned them into a 20-0 advantage in second chance points.
  • Christy led the team with four offensive boards, all in the first half, with three of them leading directly to six points.
  • Radford was consistent shooting throughout the game, hitting 41.4 percent in the first half and 40.7 in the second.
  • Longwood shot 47 percent in the opening 20 minutes and 44 percent for the game, but was just 5 of 16 on 3-pointers.
  • The Lancers' trio of Khris Lane (18), Isaiah Walton (16) and Darrion Allen (15) combined for 49 of the team's points.
  • Radford remained perfect on the season when leading at halftime, now at 8-0.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "I thought from the beginning we were engaged defensively and going to the zone (in the first half) really helped us. They were in a little bit of rhythm early on and we used it effectively to take them out of rhythm and then went back and forth for the rest of the game and I thought it kept them just a little bit off balance. But overall just a great defensive effort. Anytime you can hold a team to 60 you have a good chance to win. Before we started conference we hadn't won any on the road and Cousin told the team that we are used to winning on the road and I reminded them that we have the second-best road record in the league the last six years so our guys have taken that as a sense of pride. " ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford turns around quickly to host High Point Saturday at 12 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ASN.
 
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