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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Donald Hicks
53
Longwood LWU 7-26
59
Winner Radford RAD 20-12
Longwood LWU
7-26
53
Final
59
Radford RAD
20-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Longwood LWU 24 29 53
Radford RAD 28 31 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

HICKS, RADFORD SURVIVE SCARE FROM NO. 10 LONGWOOD


 
GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Radford 59, Longwood 53
  • Records: Radford (20-12) | Longwood (7-26)
  • Location: Kimmel Arena | Asheville, N.C.
 
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Not much went to plan offensively for the No. 2 Radford men's basketball team in the Big South Championship quarterfinals, but they overcame a poor day shooting the ball to come away with a 59-53 victory over a resurgent No. 10 Longwood team on Thursday.
 
With the game tied at 53 and exactly 53 seconds left on the clock, the Highlanders inbounded the ball and made their way up the court. Five passes and good movement scrambled the Longwood defense, allowing sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. to drive the lane before kicking the ball out to sophomore guard Donald Hicks.
 
Hicks received the pass and shot in perfect rhythm, draining his fifth 3-pointer of the game to give Radford a 56-53 lead with 34 seconds to go. Two long threes by the Lancers missed their target and three free throws by the Highlanders sealed the victory.
 
With the win, Radford advances to the Big South Championship semifinals where they will face the winner of No. 3 Winthrop and No. 6 Gardner-Webb. At 20-12 on the season, the program secures its third 20-win season under Head Coach Mike Jones.
 
It was an unusual first half for the Highlanders, who shot only 9-for-30 (30%) through the first 20 minutes of action and yet still took a 28-24 lead into the break.
 
Redshirt senior guard B.K. Ashe got the Lancers off to a hot start, providing 11 of their first 15 points. He shot 4-for-5 including a 3-for-3 clip from beyond the arc to put Longwood in front early, but two quick fouls limited his minutes.
 
Turning the ball over only two times and causing nine by the Lancers in the period was key for Radford to stay in the game. Three free throws by junior guard Caleb Tanner, followed by a corner three by Hicks, gave the Highlanders their first lead in over 10 minutes at the 8:10 mark.
 
Radford also controlled the game from the free throw line, knocking down 8-of-11 in the first half while Longwood never got an attempt. A midrange jumper by Fields Jr. as the half reached its end gave the team some momentum for the second half.
 
Even with that momentum, nothing got easier for the Highlanders in the second half. Longwood's redshirt senior guard Charles Glover drilled a three just 19 seconds into the period to make it a one-point game.
 
From there it was back-and-forth as both team vied for position ahead of each other. Radford held the Lancers without a basket for the three minutes that follow Glover's shot, but then they themselves were held without a field goal between 15:10 and 9:54.
 
Radford finally found some success shooting the ball between 8:58 and 4:39 as the team combined to go 5-for-7 in that stretch, turning a two-point deficit (41-43) into a three-point advantage (50-47). One last push by the Lancers managed to tie the game back up at 53, resulting in the exciting finish for the Highlanders.
 
Hicks led all scorers with 16 points thanks to a 5-for-6 day from 3-point range. Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and a block while Jones reached 13 points and five rebounds despite a 3-for-11 performance from the floor.
 
Ashe and Glover were excellent for the Lancers, providing 15 points each. Glover had eight rebounds while Ashe grabbed seven. Redshirt junior forward Damarion Geter also had seven rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Radford improves to 22-7 in 29 all-time meetings with Longwood
  • The Highlanders will make their second straight appearance in the Big South Championship semifinals
  • Free throws were a huge key to victory for Radford. They went 19-for-27 from the charity stripe while Longwood was held to only five attempts
  • Coach Jones relied heavily on his proven scorers. Polite Jr. played 36 minutes, Hicks played 35 and Jones pitched in 34 minutes
  • Radford's starting five of Jones, Bradford, Hicks, Polite Jr. and Phillips scored 47 of the team's 59 points
  • The 35.4% (17-48) shooting performance by the Highlanders was their third-worst of the season
  • The Highlanders capitalized on turnovers, forcing 14 and scoring 18 points off of them
  • Longwood's leading scorer, Isaiah Walton, was averaging 16.7 points per game coming into the game, but was held to zero on an 0-for-5 day
 
QUOTABLE
"We've been preaching all year that it's not about our offense, it's about our defense and rebounding and that's what it came down to today. We got the job done even though our shots just weren't falling and I'm proud of the guys for that. We need to keep our intensity level up no matter what is going on in the game and if our defense has to bail us out to get the win, I'll take it." - Head Coach Mike Jones
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
#3 Winthrop vs. #6 Gardner-Webb – 3 p.m.
#1 UNC Asheville vs. #8 Charleston Southern – 7 p.m.
#4 Campbell vs. #5 Liberty – 9 p.m.
 
UP NEXT
  • With the victory, the Highlanders advance to the Big South Championship semifinals where they will face the winner of #3 Winthrop and #6 Gardner-Webb
  • The game is slated for tomorrow, Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
  • Just like the quarterfinals, the game will be streamed live on ESPN3/WatchESPN.com
 
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