Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
MBB Happy
63
GSW GSW 0-0
72
Winner Radford RAD 1-0
GSW GSW
0-0
63
Final
72
Radford RAD
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
GSW GSW 32 31 63
Radford RAD 30 42 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

DOMINANT SECOND HALF GIVES RADFORD 72-63 WIN OVER GSW


 
RADFORD, Va. – Trailing by two through 20 minutes of play, the Radford men's basketball team erupted on a 21-5 run to begin the second half and never looked back, securing a 72-63 victory over Georgia Southwestern at the Dedmon Center on Friday night.

After pulling down an offensive board, senior center Randy Phillips tied the game at 32 just 40 seconds into the second stanza. Sophomore guard Donald Hicks then knocked down a three to make it 35-32 seconds later and the Highlanders owned the lead from then on out.
 
Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones provided a huge spark off the bench, leading all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting in his first collegiate action. He knocked down a team-leading two three-pointers, went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe and added four rebounds.
 
Jones was one of four Highlanders to get on the score sheet off the bench, helping Radford earn a 31-24 advantage over Georgia Southwestern in bench scoring. They also held a 15-3 lead in second chance points thanks to a dominant effort on the glass.
 
The Highlanders tallied 45 rebounds compared to 28 for the Hurricanes, including 23 on the offensive glass.
 
Junior forward Ed Polite, Jr. was relentless in the paint, recording 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points for a double-double. It's like nothing has changed for the Lanham, Md. native, who ranked 32nd nationally with 14 double-doubles a season ago.
 
The game began as a back-and-forth affair as the Highlanders' 6-0 run was met with a 9-0 run by Georgia Southwestern. Radford then delivered yet another 6-0 run to make it a 12-9 contest and kept the lead for the next 11 minutes.
 
GSW took advantage of some cold shooting from beyond the arc by Radford in the first half (3-for-16) as R.J. Sessions drove to the basket and laid it in with 1:12 to go to give the Hurricanes a 32-30 lead heading into the break.
 
A slow start gave way to a better showing as the Highlanders knocked down 44-percent (16-for-36) of their shots in the second half, including a 44-percent (4-for-9) clip from distance to outscore the Hurricanes 42-31 in the period.

With the season opening victory, the Highlanders start 1-0 for the first time since upsetting Georgetown, 82-81 in overtime, to begin the 2015-16 season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•  Nine different players scored on opening night for Radford
•  Carlik Jones led all scorers with 15 points in his first action as a Highlander
•  Ed Polite, Jr., started off the season on the right foot with 12 points and 11 rebounds, collecting his 21st career double-double. The junior added two blocks, one steal and one assist
•  Seven different Highlanders were in the assist column as Polite, Jr., Donald Hicks, Justin Cousin, Jones, Tristan Owens, Caleb Tanner and Travis Fields, Jr., each picked up one. Christian Bradford led Radford with three assists
•  Randy Phillips was one board shy of collecting double-digit rebounds as he picked up nine and tallied eight points
•  The Highlanders outscored the Hurricanes in bench points, 31-24 and in fast break points, 15-2
•  Radford was dominant in the rebounding category on Friday night as they totaled 45 compared to Georgia Southwestern's 28

QUOTABLE
"I thought we was a little sluggish to start the game. I didn't think our attention to detail was there in the beginning. We knew Georgia Southwestern was a going to be a battle as they beat Troy last week in an exhibition, so holding them to 32 first-half points was a goal of ours. In the second half, the guys locked in and played with intensity. Our transitional play created opportunities in the second half and we took advantage of them." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones.

UP NEXT
Ohio State awaits Radford in Columbus, Ohio where the two sides will meet on Sunday, November 12th at 2:30 pm. The Buckeyes are 1-0 as well after earning a 94-65 victory over Robert Morris on Friday night.

For the latest on Radford Athletics, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Highlander Happenings.



 
Print Friendly Version