Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Donald Hicks
84
Winner Charleston So. CSU 8-13 (3-7 BSC)
81
Radford RAD 14-9 (7-3 BSC)
Winner
Charleston So. CSU
8-13 (3-7 BSC)
84
Final
81
Radford RAD
14-9 (7-3 BSC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Charleston So. CSU 35 39 10 84
Radford RAD 35 39 7 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSU HALTS RADFORD'S 10-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK



GAME INFORMATION
Score: Charleston Southern 84, Radford 81 (OT)
Records: Radford (14-9, 7-3 Big South) | CSU (8-13, 3-7 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
RADFORD, Va. – Despite erasing an eight-point second half deficit, the Radford men's basketball failed to connect on two potentially game-winning shots at the end of regulation and overtime and ultimately fell to Charleston Southern, 81-84, at the Dedmon Center Saturday afternoon.
 
With 18 seconds on the clock in regulation, redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones received the inbound and brought the ball up the court with flashbacks of his game-winner at High Point running through everyone's minds. In a similar fashion to that game just four days ago, he stepped back and rose above his defender to take a deep two-point shot, but this time it clanged off the rim.
 
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. experienced a similar fate at the end of overtime. Not known for his 3-point shooting prowess, the Lanham, Md. native launched a shot from the top of the arc with three seconds on the clock, but it too bounced away and to an opposing player.
 
Radford only got those opportunities thanks to a late run at the end of the second half. Trailing 67-72 with 1:35 to go, the Highlanders rattled off a 7-0 run that put them in front, 74-72, with 41 seconds left in regulation. It was the first time they had led since the 13:29 mark.
 
The loss drops Radford into a three-way tie for first place in the Big South with Winthrop and UNC Asheville at 7-3. It also ends a 10-game winning streak at the Dedmon Center dating back to last season. Charleston Southern improves to 3-7 in conference play.
 
Buccaneers sophomore Christian Keeling was the star of the show, dropping 31 points. He only went 6-for-16 from the floor, but an absurd 17-for-20 clip at the free throw line put him on the score sheet over and over.
 
Four Highlanders had strong offensive days, led by sophomore guard Donald Hicks. The Chesapeake, Va. native matched his career high with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting including 5-of-7 from three. Jones (17), Polite Jr. (16) and junior guard Caleb Tanner (12) joined him in double figures.
 
Jones was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line of Saturday. He's the first Highlander to make 10+ free throws since Rashun Davis in 2015 and the first to stay perfect from the line when shooting 10+ free throws since R.J. Price in 2013.
 
Radford came out energized with an outstanding Alumni Weekend crowd in the stands and ran out to a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game. Polite Jr. got everyone fired up with his first of two alley-oop jams and the game was off to the races from there.
 
Both teams excelled from beyond the arc in the first half, each knocking down their first three attempts. Charleston Southern went 6-for-11 in the period while Radford went 5-for-10.
 
Junior guard Caleb Tanner was a big part of that for the Highlanders as he drained all three of his attempts from 3-point range in the first half. His basket with 4:48 left on the clock pushed Radford's lead into double-digits at 31-21.
 
The Bucs would respond, however, as a 12-0 run across three minutes of action gave them their first lead of the day, 33-31. Radford managed to tie it back up at 35-35 which would remain the score as the game entered its intermission.
 
Radford has fallen in only one of four overtime contests this season.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Charleston Southern's victory brings the all-time series record to 47-27 in favor of Radford
  • This is the first time Radford has lost a home overtime contest since falling, 55-59, to Gardner-Webb on Feb. 27, 2012
  • Hicks opened the scoring with a 3-pointer for the second straight game.
  • This was the first game all season that the score was tied at halftime
  • Radford started the game 19-for-19 from the free throw line and finished 22-for-25 (88.0%), their best percentage of the season
  • Both teams shot 50% from the field in the second half with CSU going 11-for-22 and Radford going 12-for-24
  • The game was the definition of a back-and-forth affair, featuring nine ties and nine lead changes
  • The Highlanders matched their season high in steals with 13. They also reached that number in a loss at San Francisco
  • Sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. tied his season and career high of six assists. He also dropped six dimes at Vanderbilt
 
QUOTABLE
"They played us really well down there in Charleston. It was a lot tougher than my liking because it was a defensive struggle. Today, we didn't come out with the same sort of defensive intensity. They were able to get a lot of stuff that they were looking for offensively, in particular driving the lane. I thought they did a nice job of getting in there and whether we fouled them or if they missed they got an offensive rebound. Their game plan was very effective against us and we weren't able to stop it." - Head Coach Mike Jones

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Winthrop 75, Campbell 64
Gardner-Webb 60, Longwood 57
Liberty 81, Presbyterian 66
UNC Asheville 84, High Point 77
 
UP NEXT
  • The Highlanders have their longest break between games since November, but come back after five days to play the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at the Dedmon Center
  • The game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU
  • For tickets, visit radfordtickets.com, call the Radford Athletics ticket office at (540) 831-7889 or stop by the ticket window on game day
 
For the latest on Radford Athletics, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Highlander Happenings.
 
Print Friendly Version