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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Christian Bradford
Radford Athletics Communications
81
Winner WINTHROP WINTHROP 17-5, 9-2 BSC
65
Radford RAD 9-14, 4-7 BSC
Winner
WINTHROP WINTHROP
17-5, 9-2 BSC
81
Final
65
Radford RAD
9-14, 4-7 BSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
WINTHROP WINTHROP 38 43 81
Radford RAD 30 35 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

3-POINT SHOOTING DOOMS RADFORD THIS TIME VS. WINTHROP



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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