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Radford Athletics Communications
71
James Madison JMU 5-4
94
Winner Radford RAD 3-4
James Madison JMU
5-4
71
Final
94
Radford RAD
3-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
James Madison JMU 35 36 71
Radford RAD 52 42 94

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

LEROY BUTTS' IV CAREER NIGHT POWERS RADFORD PAST JAMES MADISON

RADFORD, Va. – Leroy Butts IV poured in a career-high 19 points and shot 66.7 percent (9-for-14) from the floor to be the driving force in Radford's 94-71 victory over James Madison on Wednesday night inside the Dedmon Center.
 
Along with Butts IV career-high, Carlik Jones added his fifth career double-double with 23 points and 10 assists. Three other Highlanders scored in double-figures as Donald Hicks tallied a season-high 12, Devine Eke tacked on 11 and Travis Fields, Jr., added 10. It was the first time this season Radford had five players score in double-figures.
 
The quintet of players helped the Highlanders reach a season-high 94 points and eclipse the 90-point mark for the second time this season. Along with the season-high scoring, Radford shot 54.3 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from the 3-point line. Both those marks set a season-high.
 
With five lead changes and four ties in the first nine minutes of play, Radford claimed a 21-20 lead with 11:02 to play. Eke made the front end of a pair free throws and a layup on the ensuing possession. That sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Highlanders a 31-20 lead with 6:38 remaining in the first half.
 
James Madison cut the deficit to five but Radford ended the first half on a 19-4 run that saw the team go 6-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Six different players scored during the stretch lead by Jones' five. Matt Lewis hit a 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock to make it a 52-35 game heading into the locker room. The 52 points was the most Radford has scored in any half this year.
 
Ahead by 17, Radford came out of the break with a defensive mindset and held JMU to one basket through the first three minutes. On the other end of the court Butts IV was finding a groove. He led the charge that gave Radford a 23-point lead – its largest lead of the contest at the time.
 
The Highlanders kept the defensive pressure on as the Dukes only shot 40 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from deep in the second half. Radford wasn't quite as hot in the second half – dropping its field goal percentage from 60.6 to 48.6 – but still kept a 16-point lead or more throughout the half.
 
Butts IV gave the Highlanders its largest lead of the night with his career-best 19th point at the 2:54 mark. His layup gave Radford a 28-point lead, 90-62, and Mike Jones cleared the bench with 2:40 left. Miles Jones and John Caldwell scored the final two points for the Highlanders as they coasted to victory.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
The 23-point victory marks the largest margin of victory for either school in the Radford-James Madison series. The last three wins for Radford over James Madison were by a combined five points and the last four contests between the two schools were decided by 13 points altogether.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jones led the Highlanders with 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. He was one rebound shy of a triple double, despite being checked out of the game with four minutes remaining. Butts IV tallied eight boards as Radford outrebounded James Madison by nine, 42-33. Radford also shared the ball recording 24 assists and surpassing 20 for the first time since 2018. The bench was at it again, outscoring the Dukes' bench, 28-13.
 
TWEET OF THE GAME  
QUOTABLE
"It was good to be home," Mike Jones opened. "I'd just like to say thank you to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what a blessing to be a part of this program here at Radford University. Our guys obviously played with a lot of focus right from the beginning of the game. We executed our game plan early onto the tune of shooting 60 percent from the field in the first half. I thought we did a good job of getting into the paint and sharing the ball and our guards did a great job of not settling for shots early. They touched the paint whether JMU was in man or zone, and when they got in there, they did a really good job of sitting down and dropping down to the bigs. Our team starts with our guards and when they're playing hard, we're hard to beat."
 
UP NEXT
Radford will be back inside the Dedmon Center on Saturday afternoon, welcoming UNCG for a 4 p.m., tip-off. Click HERE to purchase tickets.
 
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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