RADFORD KICKS OFF BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT AGAINST NO. 7 PRESBYTERIAN ON THURSDAY

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RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team has the opportunity to defend its Big South title and it all starts on Thursday inside Gore Arena against No. 7 Presbyterian.

SETTING THE STAGE
Round: Big South Quarterfinals
Opponent: No. 7 Presbyterian Blue Hose (18-14, 9-7 Big South)
Date/Time: Thursday, March 7 at Noon
Location: Gore Arena (Buies Creek, N.C.)
Watch Live (ESPN3)
Listen Live (WRAD 101.7 FM)
Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
The Radford men's basketball team fell, 64-62, to Campbell in the 2018-19 regular season finale on Saturday, but still takes home a share of the Big South regular season title.

Graduate center Mawdo Sallah tied his season high with 14 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor. He added four rebounds and two blocks in a great effort. Redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones also reached double digits, scoring 13 points thanks to a 7-for-8 performance at the free throw line.

All nine Radford players that saw the floor against Campbell scored at least one field goal. They all combined for a huge advantage in rebounding, pulling down 37 boards compared to just 25 for the Camels.

SERIES HISTORY
In 22 all-time meetings, Radford holds a 15-7 advantage over Presbyterian including five straight wins. The two programs first met in 2007 when they played twice in two weeks and the Highlanders have not dropped a game in the series since falling, 65-64, in the 2015-16 Big South Tournament.

Earlier this season, Radford came out on top 79-77 in a close contest at the Dedmon Center. Polite Jr. notched a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds while Jones (15) and Hicks (11) provided a boost in scoring. The Blue Hose had five players in double figures and earned a 31-25 advantage on the boards.

20-WIN SEASONS
With its win at High Point last Wednesday night, Radford clinched the 10^th 20-win season in Division I program history. Four of those 10 seasons have come under Head Coach Mike Jones, including 2013-14 (22-13), 2014-15 (22-12) and 2017-18 (23-13).

REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Thanks to a 12-4 record in conference play, Radford earned a share of the 2018-19 Big South regular season championship alongside Campbell. It's the fifth regular season title in program history and the first in a full 10 years. The Highlanders also took home the top spot in 1991-92, 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2008-09.

RADFORD RACKS UP THE AWARDS
With a successful 2018-19 regular season in the books, the Radford men's basketball team earned several Big South postseason awards. Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. was named Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference, redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones was named First Team All-Conference, junior guard Travis Fields Jr. earned Honorable Mention honors and senior guard Caleb Tanner was placed on the All-Academic team.

This season marks the first time Radford has boasted two players on the First Team since 2008-09 when Art Parakhouski (Player of the Year) and Joey Lynch-Flohr both made the list. It is also the first time a Radford player has been chosen for Defensive Player of the Year since Javonte Green did so in 2014-15. Polite Jr. has been named First Team in back-to-back years, Jones jumps from the Honorable Mention list last season to First Team this year and Fields Jr. earns his first career postseason award.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE
After going 11-21 overall and 4-14 in conference play last season, Presbyterian showed major improvement in 2018-19. The Blue Hose went 17-14 overall with a 9-7 Big South record in the regular season and their points per game average increased from 66.4 to 78.0.

Picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the Big South Preseason Poll, PC earned the number seven seed in the Big South Tournament and garnered five postseason awards. Senior guard Davon Bell was named Second Team All-Conference, senior forward Francois Lewis earned Honorable Mention honors, freshman guard was named Freshman of the Year, freshman forward Cory Hightower joined him on the All-Freshman Team and junior guard JC Younger made the All-Academic Team.

Flagler leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game while Lewis comes in just behind at 14.9 points per game. Bell gives them a third scoring threat at 10.4 points per game, but even more importantly, he leads the Big South and is one of the top in the country with 6.4 assists per game. Hightower carries the load on the board with a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT
If the Highlanders defeat No. 7 Presbyterian, they will face the winner of No. 3 Winthrop and No. 6 Charleston Southern in the semifinals. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, March 8 and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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