Men's Basketball 1/23/2018 11:25:00 AM

RADFORD PREPARES FOR ROAD CONTEST AT HIGH POINT

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GAME INFORMATION

SETTING THE STAGE

Radford will look to bounce back from a tough 56-59 loss at Campbell in which cold shooting in the second half opened the door for Chris Clemons' game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds to go
High Point is on a roll, winning each of its last three games by a an average margin of 18 points
If the Highlanders win they'll maintain sole possession of first in the Big South while a Panthers win would put them in a tie for that top spot

SERIES HISTORY

Radford and High Point have met 43 times with the Highlanders holding a 23-20 record in those games
The sides first went head-to-head on January 15, 1980 when the Panthers earned a 59-40 victory in High Point
Last season, the road team won both contests with High Point winning 61-58 in the Dedmon Center before Radford got revenge with a 69-68 overtime victory at the Millis Center

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 13-8 (6-2 Big South) | RPI: 124
The Highlanders are 4-8 on the road and face a tough challenge with High Point standing at 8-1 in the Millis Center
Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones was named Big South Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season on Monday. It sets a new program record and ranks second in conference history
Radford now ranks second in the Big South for rebounding margin at +3.4, partially thanks to a league-leading 11.8 offensive rebounds per game
Senior center Randy Phillips has upped his game in conference play, averaging 8.9 points on 65.1% shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. is averaging a team-leading 16.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game during conference play
He is just 80 points away from becoming the ninth player in Big South history to record 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals in his career
Under head coach Mike Jones, Radford has lost when allowing between 50-59 points only eight times in seven years. Three of those instances have come this season
Radford recorded 15 assists on 19 made field goals at Campbell Sunday, showing an increased emphasis on sharing the ball

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

10-9 (5-3 Big South) | RPI: 247
Head Coach Scott Cherry is in his ninth season at the helm of the High Point men's basketball program, tallying a record of 142-127 in that time
Cherry led the Panthers to four straight Big South regular season championships from 2013-16. The team played in the NIT twice and the CBI twice in those four years
This season, High Point was picked to finish sixth in the conference, just once spot above the Highlanders
Their squad boasts two of the top scorers in the conference in junior guard Andre Fox (17.3 ppg) and sophomore guard Jahaad Proctor (17.1 ppg)
Fox is one of three players in the Big South shooting 50-percent or better from the field, joining UNC Asheville's Ahmad Thomas and Campbell's Marcus Burk. He's currently 107-for-214.
Proctor, who leads the team in assists as well (3.6 apg), missed five games in non-conference play, but has returned to play in all eight conference contests
No individual High Point player averages more than 4.8 rebounds per game, but 12 different players average 1.0+ so they're still outrebounding opponents, 35.4-32.3
The Panthers are excellent on defense, holding opponents to only 64.6 points per game
High Point leads the Big South in 3-point shooting percentage at .396, but ranks last in 3-pointers made with 5.6 per game
They also lead the conference in steals with 8.4 per game and in turnover margin at +3.3

NEXT HOME GAME

Radford returns to the Dedmon Center on Saturday, Jan. 27 when the Charleston Southern Buccaneers come to town
The game, which is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip, marks the first time this season the Highlanders will face an opponent for a second time
In their last meeting, Radford earned a narrow 64-61 victory in the Buc Dome behind 15 points from Carlik Jones and 13 points from Caleb Tanner