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Randy Phillips Jump Ball
61
Radford RAD 23-13
87
Winner Villanova VU 31-4
Radford RAD
23-13
61
Final
87
Villanova VU
31-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 23 38 61
Villanova VU 44 43 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

HISTORIC 2017-18 SEASON COMES TO AN END VS. VILLANOVA


 
GAME INFORMATION
  • Score: Villanova 87, Radford 61
  • Records: Radford (23-13) | Villanova (31-4)
  • Location: PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
PITTSBURGH – The No. 16 Radford men's basketball team gave its all for 40 minutes, but the 2017-18 season has come to an end after falling to No. 1 Villanova, 61-87, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena Thursday night.
 
The Highlanders finish the season with a long list of things to be proud of including a Big South championship, the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history and setting a new single-season wins record with 23. Their final record will stand at 23-13.
 
The Wildcats improve to 31-4 on the year and will stay in Pittsburgh to go up against the winner of No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 9 Alabama.
 
Senior guard Christian Bradford knocked down the first shot of the game, draining a 3-pointer from the wing to give Radford an early lead. The advantage lasted for almost two minutes, until Villanova's Phil Booth hit a three of his own, and from there the flood gates opened.
 
The Wildcats began the game 13-for-16 from the floor including a 7-for-9 clip from beyond the arc. A 13-1 run in which they hit seven straight shots grew into a 22-1 run, giving Villanova a 31-8 lead with 8:52 to go in the first half.
 
Radford never stopped fighting and they chipped away at that lead thanks to solid team defense leading into halftime. The Highlanders held Villanova to just one field goal over the final 6:04 of the period, making way for a 7-0 Radford run just before the break.
 
Even with that momentum, the Wildcats came out firing in the second half. They knocked down their first six shots to go ahead, 58-29, with 15:42 to go.
 
Villanova continued to connect on shot after shot, reaching a lead as high as 33 points with just under six minutes to play. Radford still fought for every point, ending the game on a 9-3 run.
 
Sophomore guard Donald Hicks was Radford's top scorer on the day, shooting 4-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three to tally 13 points. Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. led the team with eight rebounds while redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones dished out four assists.
 
Villanova shot an unbelievable 31-for-52 (59.6%) from the floor and 14-for-27 (51.9%) from 3-point range. Six different Wildcats finished in double-figures.
 
They were led by guard Jalen Brunson, a National Player of the Year candidate, who dropped 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Mikal Bridges finished with 13 points and Eric Paschall followed with 11 while Phil Booth, Omari Spellman and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree each had 10.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Carlik Jones was added to the starting lineup on Dec. 17, 2017 against Nevada. The Highlanders finished the season 17-9 in his starts
  • The loss snaps Radford's eight-game winning streak, the team's longest streak of the season
  • Senior guard Christian Bradford hit a three to open the game, giving Radford the lead for 1-minutes and 32-seconds
  • Sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. was 10-11 on 3-pointers coming into Thursday's game. He missed his first two Thursday, but made his third and finished with nine points
  • Jones grabbed 10 steals in the final four games of the season after getting one more against Villanova
  • The Highlanders 21-point halftime deficit was their largest of the season
  • Radford recorded 31 rebounds in the game, giving them 1,247 for the season, which ranks second in program history
  • Ed Polite Jr. pulled down eight rebounds in the game, giving him 271 for the season and moving him into 10th place in program history for single-season rebounds

QUOTABLE
"This definitely was not the way that we wanted the season to end, but it has been an unbelievable year. I love these guys. These are my brothers. I will never forget this feeling or memory." - Carlik Jones on the 2017-18 season

"We had a great year. We worked hard throughout the summer and season. We played each game like our last. I appreciate these guys, and we will be back next year." - Ed Polite Jr. on the 2017-18 season

"I'm really proud of this group and proud of what they've accomplished. They've done things that will leave probably the best legacy of any seniors in the history of Radford basketball at the Division 1 level, and I'm very proud of them for that." - Head Coach Mike Jones on his seniors

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