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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Leroy Butts IV Jumper
Jonathan Huff (www.apertureone.net)
70
Winner Radford RAD 19-12, 12-6
47
Longwood LWU 6-25, 3-15
Winner
Radford RAD
19-12, 12-6
70
Final
47
Longwood LWU
6-25, 3-15
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 37 33 70
Longwood LWU 20 27 47

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

HIGHLANDERS CRUISE IN 70-47 THRASHING OF LONGWOOD


 
GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 70, Longwood 47
  • Records: Radford (19-12, 12-6) | Longwood (6-25, 3-15)
  • Location: Willett Hall | Farmville, Va.

FARMVILLE, Va. – A dominating effort in all facets of the game helped the Radford men's basketball team earn a 70-47 victory over Longwood to end the regular season on Saturday.
 
All 14 active players on the Highlanders' roster played in the contest, each contributing to the win in their own way.
 
Junior guard Caleb Tanner led all scorers with 15 points, knocking down a season-high five 3-pointers in eight attempts. Freshman forward Leroy Butts IV played his best game as a Highlander, posting career highs in points (11), rebounds (7) and minutes played (21).
 
Redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones joined the duo in double-figures with 10 points of his own. He added a game-high four assists and two steals.
 
With the victory, the Highlanders improve to 19-12 and 12-6 in the Big South to essentially secure the number two seed in the Big South Championship. A tiebreaker with Winthrop (also 12-6) which will be based on RPI will decide who is the two-seed and who is the three-seed, but the Eagles fell to CSU in their regular season finale.
 
It took the Highlanders some time to find their rhythm, but once they did, it was a fun game to watch. After Longwood jumped out to a 6-0 lead three minutes into the contest, Fields Jr. came off the bench and injected some much-needed energy into the team.
 
Two free throws, a long jumper and a corner three by the Portsmouth, Va. native accounted for seven of Radford's first nine points and gave them a 9-8 lead at the 13:52 mark. Radford's top scorer this season, Ed Polite Jr., knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 12-10 ballgame, but was quickly whistled for his second foul and made his way to the bench.
 
His teammates picked him up in a big way, taking over the game after a Lancer layup made it 15-14 with 10 minutes in the period. Radford ended the half on a 22-6 run, thanks in large part to the bench who outscored Longwood, 25-0, in the category through 20 minutes of play.
 
Butts IV was huge, tying his career high with seven points in the first half alone in place of Polite Jr.
 
Radford carried its momentum into the second half, outscoring the Lancers 33-27 in the period. Polite Jr. finished a powerful drive to the basket with a layup and Jones added a deep three as the shot clock expired to push Radford's lead to 20.
 
Even with several subs coming into the game, the Highlanders increased their lead to as many as 28 points three times: once with 10:32 on the clock (57-29), once with 2:05 to play (68-40) and then again with 40 seconds left in regulation (70-42)
 
Longwood never managed to cut its deficit to below 20 points after Jones' three. Senior guard B.K. Ashe led the Lancers with 10 points and two assists. Redshirt senior guard matched Butts' game-high of seven rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Radford is now 21-7 in 28 all-time meetings with Longwood
  • The 2017-18 season is the first time Radford has earned 12 wins in conference play since the 2014-15 campaign
  • The 23-point win represents Radford's largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent this season. The Highlanders topped Division II Erskine by 27 on Dec. 9
  • It's the first time Radford has earned a 20+ point win since topping UNC Asheville, 90-70, back on Jan. 6
  • Junior forward Tristan Owens played a career-high 6 minutes. He knocked down his second career 3-pointer at the 7:36 mark of the second half
  • Polite Jr. played a season-low 10 minutes due in part to foul trouble early, but mainly because of the success of his teammates
  • The Highlanders' bench outscored the Lancers' bench, 44-17
  • Radford dominated on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 44-31
  • Saturday's 10-for-25 performance from behind the arc marked the seventh time this season and second time in the last three games the Highlanders connected on 10 or more threes in a game
 
QUOTABLE
"We started off pretty sluggish, but once we locked in defensively, we really made it tough on them to score. Pop's dunk ignited our juice level and we really started playing after that. I'm proud of the way our guys have grown and improved over the season, right down to the last few games as we head into the conference tournament." - Head Coach Mike Jones
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Charleston Southern 78, Winthrop 75
Liberty 65, High Point 45
Campbell 72, Presbyterian 56
Gardner-Webb 72, UNC Asheville 61
 
UP NEXT
  • With the regular season complete, Radford awaits the final seeding for the 2018 Big South Championships
  • UNC Asheville clinched the top seed so the bulk of the tournament will be held at Kimmel Arena
  • If Radford is awarded the two-seed after a tiebreaker with Winthrop, they will take on the winner of the 7/10 game on March 1st at 1 p.m.

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