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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
BUTTS
49
Radford RAD 3-6,0-0 Big Sout
71
Winner Duquesne DU 9-0,0-0 Atlantic
Radford RAD
3-6,0-0 Big Sout
49
Final
71
Duquesne DU
9-0,0-0 Atlantic
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 23 26 49
Duquesne DU 40 31 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

RADFORD DROPS SATURDAY CONTEST AGAINST DUQUESNE

AKRON, Ohio – The Radford men's basketball team fell to Duquesne, 71-49, at Ellet High School in Akron, Ohio on Saturday.
 
Duquesne (9-0) held the Highlanders to their lowest scoring output of the season with just 49 points scored. It was the first time since the 2017-18 season the Highlanders scored under 50 points in a game. Duquesne ended the first half on a 20-9 run that put Radford in a 17-point deficit – the largest at the end of the first half all year.
 
Radford started out cold from the field going 2-for-9 through the first 7:25 of the game. On the other side Duquesne could not miss, they shot 58.3 percent from the floor (7-for-12) and hit three 3-pointers to create a 20-6 lead in that same time span.
 
Cle'von Greene knocked down Radford's first 3-ball of the game then Travis Fields, Jr., ran the floor and converted a fastbreak layup on the very next possession. Greene scored his second long ball of the day and the 8-0 spark put Radford right back into it, 20-14 with 11:05 to play in the half.
 
That's when Duquesne went on the 20-9 run over the final 11 minutes. All of the Dukes points during the spurt came from 2-point baskets of free throws. Radford went 3-for-14 during the final 11 minutes of the first half and finished the half 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) from the floor. The Highlanders had a 40-23 hole to climb out of with 20 minutes to play.
 
Unfortunately, the deficit grew to 26 as Duquesne continued to score during the second half. After Tavian Dunn-Martin was fouled on a 3-point attempt he knocked down all three free throws and Radford found themselves down 55-29 with 11:45 remaining.
 
A couple of baskets by Leroy Butts IV, a 3-pointer by Devin Hutchinson and a jumper by Fields Jr., cut the lead to 20 with 8:48 to play. However, the Dukes went by back up by 26, its largest lead of the game, with a little over five minutes on the clock.
 
Radford won the turnover battle, 16-9, forcing the 15th ranked team in the country in fewest turnovers to commit 16 on Saturday. The 16 turnovers are the second-most for Duquesne in any game this season. The Highlanders took advantage of the Dukes' sloppy play scoring 18 points off turnovers.
 
One of the bright spots on Saturday was Chyree Walker, who made his Radford debut earning 16 minutes off the bench. He scored three points, had one rebound and one steal. Miles Jones connected from long range for his first collegiate 3-pointer. His nine minutes and three points were both season-highs.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
The Dukes made their presence known inside outscoring Radford, 34-16, in the paint. Duquesne also won the rebounding battle, 42-27, as 33 of their 42 came on the defensive end.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Radford's 31.6 percent field goal percentage is the lowest through nine games this season. Butts IV led the Highlanders in scoring with 12 points and was the only player in double-figure scoring. Butts was also the team's leading rebounder corralling nine – just one shy of a double-double. Carlik Jones and Fields Jr., combined for 18 points scoring nine each. Marcus Weathers led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds. He went 8-for-11 from the floor and added three blocks to his stat line.
 
TWEET OF THE GAME  
QUOTABLE
"For the most part and especially early, we didn't play the right way," Mike Jones said. "When a team is that good defensively they're not just going to let you come down and score on the first option. You're going to have to move the ball. You have to really get it inside and drive in there and play off two feet. There were times that we drove the lane and forced shots instead of making the extra pass. There were also a few times during the game that we played the right way. We collapsed the defense, we made the extra pass and got good looks but just couldn't get too many of those shots to fall."
 
UP NEXT
Radford will head south to Starkville, Miss., to face SEC foe Mississippi State in Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., ET.
 
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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