","thumbnailUrl":null,"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Radford University Athletics","jobTitle":null},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Radford University Athletics","url":"https://radfordathletics.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://radfordathletics.com/images/logos/site/site.png","width":50,"height":50}},"about":null,"speakable":{"type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":["article-content","article-headline"]}} HIGHLANDERS HOLD OFF CSU IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE - Radford University Athletics
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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Caleb Tanner
64
Winner Radford RAD 11-6, 4-0
61
Charleston So. CSU 6-9, 1-3
Winner
Radford RAD
11-6, 4-0
64
Final
61
Charleston So. CSU
6-9, 1-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 30 34 64
Charleston So. CSU 26 35 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

HIGHLANDERS HOLD OFF CSU IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE


 
GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 64, Charleston Southern 61
  • Records: Radford 11-6 (4-0 Big South) | Charleston Southern 6-9 (1-3 Big South)
  • Location: The Buc Dome | Charleston, S.C.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – A fiery battle from start to finish went the way of Radford men's basketball as the team held on for a 64-61 victory over Charleston Southern Tuesday evening.
 
With just over two minutes to play and Radford trailing 58-57 after a 16-3 run by the Buccaneers, the Highlanders hit five free throws and one huge step-back jumper to take the lead and hold off a charging CSU club.
 
That jumper belonged to redshirt freshman Carlik Jones, who was suffering from illness leading up to the game, but still managed to lead Radford with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting across 35 minutes.
 
Junior guard Caleb Tanner was clutch in the final minute, hitting all four of his free throws after coming off the bench for that exact situation. The Floyd, Va. native scored a season-high 13 points after drilling three 3-pointers in the contest.
 
With the win, Radford improves its win streak to six and its overall record to 11-6. More importantly, the Highlanders are 4-0 in the Big South for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Charleston Southern drops to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
 
Sophomore guard Donald Hicks set the tone right away in the second half, knocking down a corner three. Jones came right back down the court to hit one of his three 3-pointers on the day and push Radford's lead to a game-high 10.
 
Each basket scored over the next eight minutes was met with an answer by the opposing team until sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. drained a three to make it 54-42 at the 9:19 mark. That's when things got interesting thanks to six straight minutes of Charleston Southern controlling the scoring.
 
The Buccaneers opened the game with a full court press that proved to be effective, limiting the Highlanders to only 30 points in the first half.
 
After back-and-forth action kicked things off, CSU jumped ahead with a 10-2 run across three minutes. The Highlanders turned a 12-7 deficit into a 14-12 lead, however, after going on a 7-0 run of their own.
 
Even then a good look was hard to come by. Radford went on a stretch between 10:42 and 4:18 where they failed to score from the field. It took a team effort to break out of that slump as junior forward Ed Polite Jr., sophomore center Devonnte Holland, Fields Jr., Tanner and Jones combined to hit the Highlanders' final five shots of the period.
 
Freshman guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. led all scorers with 17 points while sophomore guard Christian Keeling followed with 14 of his own. The duo combined to shoot 12-for-23 (52%) from the field.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Radford improves its all-time record against Charleston Southern to 46-27
  • There were eight ties and nine score changes in this game, both season-highs
  • The Highlander bench came up huge once again, outscoring the Bucs' bench, 29-19
  • After going 3-for-11 (27.3%) from three in the first half, the Highlanders hit 6-of-11 in the second half (54.5%)
  • With 20 trips to the free throw line, Radford took advantage of their opportunities with 17 made
  • Senior center Randy Phillips and Holland each recorded two blocks. Jones swatted away the fourth shot of his career to make it five blocks on the night
  • Radford won despite losing the turnover battle, 17-15, and the rebounding battle, 30-25
  • Charleston Southern was dominant in the paint, scoring 32 of its 61 points there
  • The Bucs turned 17 Radford turnovers into an 11-0 advantage in fast break points

QUOTABLE
"Tonight was about toughness and maturity. We have been wanting to see that from our guys when things aren't going great and we definitely saw it tonight. Charleston Southern was killing us on the glass in the first half and then had that big comeback in the second half, but we used a lot of grit and determination to get the win." – Head Coach Mike Jones
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Gardner-Webb 62, High Point 45
Liberty 73, Winthrop 70
UNC Asheville 90, Longwood 80
Campbell 83, Presbyterian 79
 
UP NEXT
  • The Highlanders travel to North Carolina for the third time this season, this time to take on Big South foe Gardner-Webb on Friday, Jan. 12th at 7 p.m.
  • The Runnin' Bulldogs are tied with Liberty for second in the Big South with a 3-1 record. They're 8-9 overall after an extremely tough non-conference schedule
 
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