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Men's Basketball

RADFORD REKINDLES OLD BIG SOUTH RIVALRY WITH UNCG ON TUESDAY


 
RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team finally completes its five-game road trip when it takes on UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday night.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: UNC Greensboro Spartans (10-2, 0-0 SoCon)
Date/Time: Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
Location: Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, N.C.)
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LAST TIME OUT
The Highlanders took yet another ACC opponent down to the wire, but a wild second half and some tough calls resulted in a 74-66 defeat to Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday.
 
Redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones caused the Tigers a ton of trouble, pouring in 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting while adding five assists and three rebounds. Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
As a team, the Highlanders shot an impressive 25-for-50 (50%) from the floor including an even more impressive 9-for-16 (56.3%) from beyond the arc. The problems came on the boards, where they were out-rebounded, 36-24.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans joined the Big South Conference for the 1993-94 season, but only stayed through 1996-97 before departing for the SoCon. In that short period, the Highlanders played UNCG nine times and tallied a 4-5 record.
 
In the most recent matchup, Radford earned a 78-76 victory over UNCG in the first round of the Big South Tournament in Lynchburg, Va. on Feb. 26, 1997.
 
RAINING THREES
Radford continues to be one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to three-point shooting. Through 10 games, the Highlanders now rank eighth out of 351 Division I teams with a 41.9 three-point field goal percentage. They also rank 70th in the nation with 9.1 three-point field goals made per game.
 
THE RETURN OF DONALD HICKS
Junior guard Donald Hicks made his much-anticipated return to the floor against Clemson, coming off the bench at the 15:37 mark of the first half after missing the last three games with a calf injury.
 
Prior to his injury, Hicks had started 71 straight games for the Highlanders dating back to Nov. 20, 2016 at Akron. He finished with six points and two steals against the Tigers.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
UNCG is off to an unbelievable start this year, collecting its best record to begin a season since moving to Division I. At 10-2 overall, the Spartans are one of only 12 teams in the nation with double-digit wins already. Their only two losses came against No. 23 LSU and No. 10 Kentucky.
 
Both the 2018-19 SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll and Media Poll picked UNCG to win the league with six first-place votes despite stiff competition from Wofford, ETSU and Furman. Senior guard Francis Alonso and junior forward James Dickey were both preseason all-conference selections.
 
The Spartans have excelled on both the offensive and defensive ends, ranking in the top 70 in the nation for scoring offense (80.6) and scoring defense (64.3). They are currently 10th in the country for total steals and third out of all teams in turnover margin at +7.2.
 
NEXT HOME GAME
The Highlanders continue their five-game road trip before returning to the Dedmon Center on Friday, Dec. 21 to take on Georgia Southern at 6 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' on Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.
 
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Players Mentioned

Donald Hicks

#5 Donald Hicks

G
6' 3"
Junior
Carlik Jones

#1 Carlik Jones

G
6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Donald Hicks

#5 Donald Hicks

6' 3"
Junior
G
Carlik Jones

#1 Carlik Jones

6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
G