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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Chyree Walker
68
Radford RAD 3-7,0-0 Big Sout
77
Winner Mississippi St. MSU 8-2,0-0 SEC
Radford RAD
3-7,0-0 Big Sout
68
Final
77
Mississippi St. MSU
8-2,0-0 SEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 42 26 68
Mississippi St. MSU 38 39 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

LATE RUN PUSHES MISSISSIPPI STATE PAST RADFORD

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A late second half run by Mississippi State pushed the Bulldogs past Radford, 77-68, on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
 
With the game tied at 57 and just under eight minutes on the clock, Leroy Butts IV knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night. His career-high second 3-ball put Radford (3-7) in the driver's seat with a 60-57 lead.
 
Mississippi State's (8-2) Iverson Molinar made a layup on the ensuing possession that cut the lead to one. A pair of free throws by Reggie Perry gave the Bulldogs a 61-60 lead and Abdul Ado extended the lead with a layup off a missed shot.
 
A couple of possessions later, Carlik Jones made a jumper from the free throw line that put Radford within striking distance, 63-62, and a little over five minutes to play in regulation. The Bulldog defense stood strong and the hot Highlanders cooled off for the next 3:47 as Mississippi State went on a 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead, 75-62.
 
Travis Fields, Jr., made a 3-pointer with 32 seconds on the clock but after the Highlanders couldn't get a steal, Cle'von Greene had to foul at midcourt. Starkville native Tyson Carter was beneficiary of the foul and was sent to the charity stripe. He knocked down a pair of free throws that gave the Bulldogs a 12-point advantage.
 
Donald Hicks made a consolation 3-pointer with six ticks on the clock, but the late run was too much. He led the Highlanders with four 3-pointers and his final one gave Radford a season-high 15.
 
The hot shooting of the Highlanders was the story in the first half. Radford shot a splintering 64.7 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on 11-of-17. Six different players made a trey ball, led by Chyree Walker and Hicks with three apiece.
 
With the score at 14-9 in favor of MSU, the Highlanders seized advantage of the 3-ball and took its first lead of the game thanks to an 11-4 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Walker and Devin Hutchinson. Hutchinson's 3-ball gave Radford the lead, 20-18, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout at the 10:40 mark.
 
The Highlanders maintained the lead for the majority of the first half and led by as many as nine just two minutes after taking the lead. The Bulldogs kept chipping away at the nine-point lead with numerous second-chance buckets.
 
Eventually Mississippi State cut the deficit to one with seven seconds remaining in the first half but Jones knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer pushing the lead back to four, 42-38.
 
The second half saw Mississippi State take the lead just 2:10 out of the break. Both teams battled back-and-forth as the second half had eight ties and nine lead changes until Mississippi State closed the game on a 20-8 run over the final 7:05 of regulation.
 
Radford shot percentage fell to 30.8 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
Radford's bench outscored Mississippi State's 17-1 in the first 20 minutes and went on to outscore them 22-6 for the entirety of the game. Despite the high production of the bench, Radford was outrebounded 37-26 and outscored in the paint, 32-12. The Bulldogs also took advantage of second-chance points tallying 26 to Radford's 16.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Radford slowed down from beyond the arch in the second half but still managed to finish the game with its second-highest 3-point percentage this season, 46.9 percent. Jones led Radford with 15 points and set his teammates up for great looks, finishing the night with seven assists. The Cincinnati, Ohio native also went 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Hicks was second in scoring with 12 points – all of them coming from 3-pointers – and Walker chipped in a season-high 10. He knocked down a trio of triples going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Mississippi State only had seven players touch the floor on Wednesday night. Four of them scored in double-figures led by Perry with 18. Abdul Ado and Robert Woodard II added 17. Perry and Woodard were one rebound shy of a double-double, while Ado led all players with 12 for the game's only double-double.
 
TWEET OF THE GAME  
QUOTABLE
"It was a better effort by our team tonight," Mike Jones said. "I thought we played gritty and tough – the way we try to. We want that to be our identity, we want to be gritty and tough. Last game out, we did not do that against a team with similar size. I tried to tell our guys, 'It's not the size of the dog, but the size of the heart in that dog.' I thought we played with a lot of heart tonight. Unfortunately, we didn't get the result that we wanted, but if we continue to play this way, which I thought was the right way tonight on both sides of the ball, then I think we'll get good results."
 
UP NEXT
Radford will travel to the nation's capital for the DC Holiday Hoops Fest taking on another tough opponent in Richmond. The Highlanders and Spiders will tangle on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., at the Entertainment & Sports Arena. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
 
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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