Men's Basketball 1/17/2018 1:00:00 PM

MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYS HOST TO LONGWOOD THURSDAY

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GAME INFORMATION

GAME DAY SHUTTLE

Radford Athletics and Radford Transit have joined forces to bring fans a free and easy-to-use shuttle service from campus to the Dedmon Center. For more information, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE

Thursday's matchup marks back-to-back contests against in-state rivals for the Highlanders. They took on Liberty and earned a thrilling 59-57 overtime victory on Monday
Longwood is on a roll, winning three of its last four games following a 3-12 start to the season. At 3-3 in conference play, they are right in the thick of things, knotted in a five-way tie for fourth with Liberty, Campbell, Winthrop and High Point
A win for Radford would solidify its place atop the Big South standings while a win for Longwood would further legitimize its bid to compete with the conference's best teams

SERIES HISTORY

Radford and Longwood have met 26 times previously with the Highlanders owning a 19-7 lead in the series
The Highlanders are 6-4 against the Lancers since they joined the Big South six seasons ago
Last season, Radford took both contests against Longwood by tallies of 72-60 and 79-62

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 12-7 (5-1 Big South) | RPI: 109
The Highlanders have won seven of their last eight games including five in conference play to move to the top of the Big South standings
Their win over Liberty marked the second time this season they have overcome a double-digit deficit to win. The first came against James Madison on Nov. 25
Getting off to a quicker start will be crucial for a Radford squad that has post season-lows in first half scoring in back-to-back games: 16 at Gardner-Webb and 18 vs. Liberty
Radford is 8-3 in games decided by 10 points or less and 2-0 in overtime this season
Opponents have found points hard to come by against the Radford defense which allows only 66.5 points per game
The Highlanders are outscoring opponents by an average of seven points during conference play, shooting 46.3-percent compared to 40.9-percent by opposing teams
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. is averaging 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game during conference play. His shooting percentage in that time is up to 60.6-percent after going 7-for-7 vs. Liberty
The Highlanders have drawn 113 fouls and gotten to the free throw line 110 times during conference play. Meanwhile, opponents have only shot 83 free throws after 93 fouls in that time

SCOUTING THE LANCERS

Record: 6-13 (3-3 Big South) | RPI: 328
Head Coach Jayson Gee is in his fifth season at the helm of the Longwood men's basketball program. He has accumulated a record of 41-107 in that time and is 2-6 against Radford
Longwood was picked to finish ninth in the Big South preseason poll
The Lancers are 3-1 in their last four Big South games including victories over Liberty, Campbell and Gardner-Webb
Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton has been an offensive force for the Lancers, averaging 18.4 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field, 41.9% from 3-point range and 87.7% from the free throw line
Redshirt senior guard B.K. Ashe is also averaging double-digit points this season with 13.3 per game. Along with graduate student Charles Glover's 8.7 points per game, the backcourt trio is responsible for 51.7-percent of Longwood's scoring
Redshirt senior forward Damarion Geter is Longwood's top rebounder at 6.5 boards per game. Eight different players on the roster are averaging 2.0+ rebounds per game
Perimeter defense is Longwood's calling card. The Lancers are holding opponents to a 30-percent clip from 3-point range, the lowest in the Big South and 14^th lowest in the nation
Opponents are averaging 75.3 points per game against the Lancers, but they've limited Liberty and Campbell to 51 and 62 points respectively in the last two games

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