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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Travis Fields Jr.
Jonathan Huff (www.apertureone.net)
63
LWU LWU 6-14 (3-4 BSC)
70
Winner Radford RAD 13-7 (6-1 BSC)
LWU LWU
6-14 (3-4 BSC)
63
Final
70
Radford RAD
13-7 (6-1 BSC)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
LWU LWU 25 38 63
Radford RAD 29 41 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

RADFORD IMPROVES TO 7-0 AT DEDMON WITH WIN OVER LONGWOOD



GAME INFORMATION
Score: Radford 70, Longwood 63
Records: Radford 13-7 (6-1 Big South) | 6-14 (3-4 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team was the definition of clutch down the stretch, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line to secure a 70-63 victory over Longwood at the Dedmon Center Thursday night.
 
With the game knotted at 60-60 with just over two minutes to play, junior forward Ed Polite Jr. rose above two Longwood defenders to tip in a missed jumper and give the Highlanders a 62-60 advantage. Radford refused to relinquish that lead for the rest of the game as they outscored the Lancers, 10-3, from that point forward.
 
Senior center Randy Phillips, junior guard Caleb Tanner, sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. and redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones were each fouled and each drilled their free throws to send the Dedmon faithful home happy.
 
With the victory, Radford improves to 13-7 and 6-1 in the Big South while Longwood drops to 6-14 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
 
A deep three from Longwood's Isaiah Walton put the Lancers on the board first, but senior guard Christian Bradford answered with a fast-break corner three of his own. After some back-and-forth action, the Lancers took charge and went on a 9-2 run from 17:17 to 13:58 to bring their lead to eight points.
 
Freshman Leroy Butts IV was the man who stepped up to halt the run, draining a three from the top of the key moments later. His shot ignited a 16-2 run for the Highlanders that included a Fields Jr. jumper to take the first lead of the day at 11:00.
 
Radford held Longwood without a basket for over nine minutes in the period, stretching until the 4:20 mark when Jashaun Smith connected on a three. Sophomore Donald Hicks scored the Highlanders' final five points of the half to bring the score to 29-25 heading into the break.
 
The Highlanders came out energized in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions to push their lead to a game-high 10 points.
 
Longwood hit right back using a 15-4 run to take a 40-39 lead at 11:46, their first time overtaking the Highlanders since the 11:26 mark of the first period. Radford was held without a single point for more than five minutes before senior guard Justin Cousin drilled a three.
 
The rest of the contest was a track meet with each team racing down the court, looking for some daylight. In the end, it was Radford that broke through for the win.
 
Jones finished with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting including a 2-for-4 clip from beyond the arc. His eight rebounds matched a career high (Elon, 11/22/17) and his nine free throw attempts set a new career high.
 
Phillips joined him in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He has now recorded three straight games with one block and one steal.
 
The bulk of Longwood's scoring came from four players: Isaiah Walton (16), B.K. Ashe (14), Spencer Franklin (13) and Damarion Geter (12).
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Radford moves to 20-7 in 27 all-time meetings with Longwood
  • Rebounding was huge for the Highlanders as they dominated the Lancers in the post, 40-23
  • 10 different Highlanders scored at least two points and pulled down at least one rebound in a total team effort
  • Bradford has hit at least one 3-pointer in back-to-back games for the first time since he connected in five straight games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 2
  • Butts' three in the first half was his first since knocking down a three in each of his first two career games (Nov. 15 at ECU and Nov. 22 at Elon)
  • Cousin went 2-for-2 from the free throw line in only his fourth and fifth attempts this season
  • The Highlanders forced 12 turnovers in the first half after Liberty turned the ball over 11 times in their entire game vs. Radford. Longwood finished Thursday night's contest with 17 turnovers
  • Those turnovers turned into a 24-11 advantage for Radford in points off turnovers
  • Foul trouble led to only 25 minutes of playing time for Ed Polite Jr., his lowest total since playing 25 minutes at San Francisco on Dec. 19
 
QUOTABLE
"We knew coming into the game that Longwood was playing very well and is one of the hottest teams in the league. Then you add in the factor of this being a rivalry game, we knew that both teams would be extremely motivated. We didn't start the game the way we wanted to. For most of the game we didn't do as well defensively as I wanted us to either. We got some stops when we had to, then we let them back into the game. The consistency wasn't there defensively tonight. On the offensive end I thought we did some good things. We shared the ball and got some good looks that didn't always result in a score, but we attacked the offensive glass and got some second opportunities. We also hit our free throws down the stretch when we needed them." - Head Coach Mike Jones
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Campbell 62, Charleston Southern 47
Gardner-Webb 61, Presbyterian 53
High Point 71, Liberty 60
Winthrop 85, UNC Asheville 58
 
UP NEXT
  • Radford hits the road for back-to-back games in North Carolina: Campbell on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. and High Point on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
  • The Camels are 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the Big South following a 62-47 victory over CSU on Thursday evening
  • The Highlanders are 4-7 on the road this season, but have gone 2-1 when visiting conference opponents
 
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