Men's Basketball 11/19/2018 1:45:00 PM

HIGHLANDERS TO FACE OFF WITH WILLIAM & MARY ON TUESDAY NIGHT

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RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team wraps up its run through the Gotham Classic when it takes on William & Mary at Kaplan Arena on Tuesday night.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: William & Mary Tribe (1-3, 0-0 CAA)
Date/Time: Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
Location: Kaplan Arena (Williamsburg, Va.)
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LAST TIME OUT
The Highlanders dropped their first game of the season on Saturday, falling 69-64 to the Duquesne Dukes in Akron.

Graduate center Mawdo Sallah had his best game in a Radford uniform yet, stuffing the stat sheet with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting, five rebounds and three blocks. Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. posted his third double-double of the year with 11 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as well.

Three-point shooting and rebounding, which had been strengths in the previous three games, hurt Radford in the loss to Duquesne. The Highlanders only shot 27.8-percent (5-18) from three and were out-rebounded 36-to-33. The good news is that Radford won the turnover battle and had a higher overall shooting percentage than the Dukes.

SERIES HISTORY
Radford has traditionally struggled against William & Mary, going 2-6 across eight all-time meetings with the Tribe. Despite being in-state, it has been a rare occasion for the two teams to even play each other.

The Highlanders' first game against W&M came on Dec. 3, 1977 when the Tribe pulled out an 85-56 victory. They didn't meet again until Nov. 24, 2002 when Radford got its revenge in a 64-63 win.

William & Mary earned a 60-55 victory in Radford in the most recent match-up on Dec. 8, 2012. Kion Brown led the Highlanders with 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals while YaYa Anderson chipped in 12 points and Javonte Green added 11 points.

REBOUNDING MACHINE
With 5:16 left on the clock in the first half, Polite Jr. pulled down his 846^th career rebound. That gives him sole possession of second place on the Radford all-time career rebounding list, moving him past Hall of Famer Chris Oliver (2003-07). The only player left in front of Polite Jr. is Javonte Green, who pulled down 1,064 rebounds in his career.

BLOCK PARTY
Led by Sallah and Polite Jr., the Highlanders have shown an acute ability to defend the rim this season. Through four games, Radford is averaging 4.5 blocks per game which would rank fourth in program history for an entire season.

The only teams that would sit ahead of this year's squad would be 2001-02 (5.16 bpg), 1990-91 (4.86 bpg) and 2008-09 (4.67 bpg).

SCOUTING THE TRIBE
William & Mary is off to a bit of a slow start this season, winning its first game of the year before dropping three straight in the Gotham Classic tournament. Duquesne (84-70), UIC (110-95) and Notre Dame (73-64) all bettered the Tribe, but their one win did come against Big South member High Point (79-69).

The Tribe were picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Poll behind Northeastern, College of Charleston and Hofstra. Junior forward Nathan Knight and junior guard/forward Justin Pierce were both selected to the Preseason All-CAA Second Team as well.

Pierce has been fantastic for W&M so far this season, leading the team in points per game (22.3), rebounds per game (11.3) and assists per game (3.7). As a team, the Tribe are averaging 77.0 points per game and are shooting a strong 47.2-percent from the field. With a -5.2 turnover margin, ball security has been a big issue for them. Opponents are averaging 9.8 steals per game against them.

UP NEXT
Radford finally returns to the Dedmon Center to face Glenville State on Monday, Nov. 26 at 7 pm. Tickets can be purchased on RadfordTickets.com or by calling the Radford Ticket Office at (540) 831-7889 during business hours.

FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMBB on Twitter, 'radfordmbb' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Javonte Green: F; 6' 4"; Junior

#11 YaYa Anderson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#00 Kion Brown: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#20 Mawdo Sallah: F/C; 6' 8"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#2 Javonte Green
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F

#11 YaYa Anderson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#00 Kion Brown
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#20 Mawdo Sallah
: 6' 8"; Graduate Student
: F/C