Men's Basketball 11/24/2017 10:01:00 AM

MEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS TO DEDMON TO FACE JMU

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GAME INFORMATION

SETTING THE STAGE

The Highlanders are coming off a hard-fought game in Elon that came down to the final possession, but ultimately went the Phoenix's way as a potential buzzer-beating three to force overtime fell short
The Dukes struggled in their three-game tournament in the Bahamas last weekend, but they've since regained some momentum with a 105-99 double-overtime victory against Appalachian State
Radford is seeking to defend its home court, the Dedmon Center, where they have earned a winning record each of the last five seasons

SERIES HISTORY

Radford and James Madison have met 14 times in their series history with the Dukes holding a commanding 12-2 lead overall
The two teams went head-to-head for the first time on December 4, 1984 when the Highlanders shipped up to Harrisonburg and dropped a 52-50 overtime game
The 2015-16 season featured the most recent game between Radford and JMU and it too resulted in a close loss. The Highlanders fell, 70-68, on November 30, 2015
Rashun Davis scored a game-high 22 points while a young Ed Polite, Jr. added 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in that game

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 2-2 (0-0 Big South)
The Radford offense has been extremely consistent, posting point totals of 72, 72, 73 and 74 through its first four games. The team only averaged 65.3 points per game a season ago
With a strong shooting performance at Elon, Radford bumped its field goal percentage from 40.9 to 41.9 and their three-point shooting percentage from 36.1 to 37.7
The Radford bench outscored the Phoenix bench, 35-12, to bring their season advantage over opponents to 158-63
Radford was held to a season-low six free throw attempts at Elon, but they protected the ball well and only allowed the Phoenix to tally one steal and one block in the game
Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones still leads the Highlanders with 12.8 points per game after flirting with a double-double (8pts, 8rebs) Wednesday night
Radford ranks second in the Big South in turnovers per game with only 12.0 and third in the conference with 10.0 three pointers made per game
Under Head Coach Mike Jones, the Radford men's basketball program has gone 54-43 in games following a loss, including a 1-0 mark this year

SCOUTING THE DUKES

Record: 2-4 (0-0 CAA)
Head Coach Louis Rowe is in his second year at the helm of the JMU men's basketball program. His team went 10-23 overall, but won seven of those games in conference play after a slow start
The CAA preseason coaches poll predicted the Dukes to finish last in the 10-team league
The Dukes are one of the youngest teams in the country. In fact, only two players who saw minutes in the 2016-17 season are on this year's roster
Senior guard Joey McLean, redshirt junior guard Stuckey Mosley, redshirt senior forward Ramone Snowden and junior forward Develle Phillips have started all six games for the Dukes
Mosley, a transfer from Toledo who sat out the 2016-17 season, is pacing the Dukes' offense with 19.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game
Freshman guard Matt Lewis has already made a big impact early in his career, averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game