3-POINT SHOOTING DOOMS RADFORD THIS TIME VS. WINTHROP

Wednesday, February 1

RADFORD

7PM

Radford University

9-14, 4-7BSC

Winthrop

17-5, 9-2BSC

Team	1	2	F
WINTHROP	38	43	81
Radford	30	35	65

Photo by: Radford Athletics Communications

3-POINT SHOOTING DOOMS RADFORD THIS TIME VS. WINTHROP

2/1/2017 10:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Box Score (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Winthrop 81, Radford 65
Records: Radford (9-14, 4-7) | Winthrop (17-5, 9-2)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team wasn't able to repeat the 3-point shooting performance it had against Winthrop in the teams' first meeting and, despite a second-half charge, dropped the rematch 81-65 Wednesday night inside the Dedmon Center.

Ed Polite, Jr. tied a season-high with 21 points, while Christian Bradford added 14 points, but the Highlanders connected on just 2 of 19 3-point attempts after making a season-high 16 during the victory in Rock Hill.

For the second straight game, Radford was fighting uphill on the scoreboard after a cold start, trailing by as many as 12, but got going late in the second half, capped by Bradford's driving dunk just before the buzzer that made it a 38-30 score.

The Highlanders carried the momentum into the second half, using a 13-5 run over the first 3:20 to tie the game. Donald Hicks scored five of the points, while Bradford added four, including a layup that evened the score at 43-43. However, Winthrop quickly regained the lead on back-to-back layups by Roderick Perkins – his only four points of the game - and built the margin back up to 12 with help from consecutive 3-pointers by Bjorn Broman and Anders Broman. During the decisive 20-8 spurt that made it 63-51 with 9:13 left, the Eagles got 17 of their points from players other than leading scorers Keon Johnson and Xavier Cooks.

Radford used an 8-0 run on five points by Polite, Jr. and a 3-pointer by Caleb Tanner to close within 66-60 with 4:35 to play, but Bjorn Broman answered with a momentum-breaking 3-pointer, starting a 7-0 spurt to put the game out of reach.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Bradford scored all of his 14 points in the first 25 minutes of the game, finishing one point shy of his career-high. He was 7 of 13 from the field, while adding two assists.
Polite, Jr. connected on 5 of 9 field goals and 11 of 15 free throws for his third 20-point game of the season. He added five rebounds and two steals.
Hicks nearly posted his first double-double as a Highlander, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds, while adding nine points.
Devonnte Holland also had a season-high in rebounds with eight, while adding six points.
Radford controlled the boards with a 43-35 advantage, including a dominant 17-3 margin on the offensive end. However, it only led to a 13-5 edge in second-chance points.
The Highlanders also had a 30-22 lead in points in the paint, but it couldn't compensate for the 3-point shooting, included an 0 for 8 first half and tied a season-low for makes, equaling the total against Akron on Nov. 20.
Justin Cousin was 1 for 8 overall for two points and failed to make a 3-pointer for the first time since Dec. 17.
Overall, Radford shot 31 percent in the first half, 41 percent in the second and 36 percent for the game.
Winthrop was 25 for 50 overall and 10 of 24 from 3-point range.
Johnson totaled a relatively quiet 23 points on 5 of 13 field goals, including 4 of 8 3-pointers, and 9 of 10 free throws.
However, the Bromans tallied 14 points apiece, combining to make 6 of 11 3-pointers after failing to make a field goal in the team's last game.
The Highlanders suffered their fourth straight conference loss for the first time since 2012-13 and their fifth consecutive home defeat after starting out 5-0.

QUOTABLE

"Like I say all the time, you can't count on shooting every night. We were guarding but obviously it's hard to get a lead early on if you're not scoring the ball. We kept battling the whole game and gave ourselves a chance to get back in it because of our defense. We made a few mental lapses, particularly in transition where we didn't quite get matched up right away and they got a couple of good looks. That kind of took the wind out of our sails because we had built a lot of steam to get back in the game. From that point, we continued to battle but couldn't make a run because we didn't make enough shots when we had the opportunities. We've just got to keep battling. I like our team's toughness and grit and determination and we're going to battle every minute we're on the floor." ~ Radford head coach Mike Jones

UP NEXT

Radford will look to snap its losing streak when it travels to Lynchburg for a Saturday night clash against Commonwealth rival and conference co-leader Liberty. Tipoff in the Vines Center is set for 7 p.m.
The Highlanders rallied from a 25-point deficit to force the first meeting into overtime, but Liberty won 71-64 on Jan. 14.

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