Men's Basketball 3/8/2019 8:00:00 AM

NO. 2 RADFORD FACES OFF WITH NO. 6 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN IN BIG SOUTH SEMIS

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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Radford men's basketball team advanced to the Big South semifinals with a hard-fought victory over No. 7 Presbyterian on Thursday and will now go up against No. 6 Charleston Southern.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: No. 6 Charleston Southern (17-14, 9-7 Big South)
Date/Time: Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m.
Location: Gore Arena (Buies Creek, N.C.)
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LAST TIME OUT
In stark contrast to its run through the Big South Tournament a season ago, the Radford men's basketball team used hot shooting from all over the floor to race past No. 7 Presbyterian, 84-76, on Thursday to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Trailing by three heading into the second half, the Highlanders caught fire from beyond the arc, going 8-for-15 over the final 20 minutes to change the entire complexion of the game. Senior guard Caleb Tanner was a huge catalyst for that, going 4-for-4 on threes off the bench.

Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. turned in a dominant performance, going 8-for-12 for 21 points alongside nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Junior guard Donald Hicks was excellent, going 5-for-8 with 16 points while redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones gave Radford a fourth double-figure scorer with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

As a team the Highlanders went 30-for-56 (53.6%) in the game and just as importantly, 13-for-17 (76.5%) from the free throw line to ice the game.

SERIES HISTORY
One of Radford's oldest rivals, the Highlanders own a 47-29 record across 75 all-time meetings with Charleston Southern. The two sides have split the season series for three straight years including the 2017-18 season when Radford earned a nail-biting 64-61 win in Charleston before dropping an 84-81 overtime contest in the Dedmon Center.

Radford earned an 86-78 victory at home before coming up short in a 53-52 defeat at the Buc Dome in the next contest. Polite Jr. recorded a double-double in both games, going for 15 points/15 rebounds in the first one and 18 points/10 rebounds in the second one.

ROLE REVERSAL
In Radford's first game against Presbyterian this season, the Blue Hose out-rebounded the Highlanders 31-25 and earned a 34-14 advantage in points in the paint. This time around, Radford reversed those numbers with a 35-33 ratio in rebounds and a 26-24 lead in paint points.

DISHIN' OUT ASSISTS
Junior guard Travis Fields Jr. was excellent as the Highlanders' primary point guard on Thursday, matching his career high with seven assists. The Portsmouth, Va. native only tallied five assists in his last three games combined so he's bringing his A-game at the right time. The last time he had seven assists in a single game was on Nov. 17, 2018 at Duquesne.

SCOUTING THE BUCS
Charleston Southern is the hottest team in the conference right now, winning four straight games including a 77-63 upset of No. 3 Winthrop in the tournament quarterfinals. The Big South Preseason Poll tabbed the Bucs to finish fifth out of 11 teams after they went 9-9 against league competition a season ago, but they took the No. 6 seed instead.

Preseason All-Big South selection Christian Keeling has lived up to his lofty expectations, leading the team in points per game (18.9), rebounds per game (7.0), assists (87), steals (39) and blocks (21). The junior guard is one of only 25 players in the nation to have recorded a triple-double this season and he ranks in the top 100 in the country in both points per game and total field goal attempts.

As a team, the Buccaneers have proven to be very strong defensively thanks in large part to their propensity to force turnovers. Nationally, they rank 10th in turnovers forced per game (16.8), 37th in steals per game (7.8) and 16th in turnover margin (3.7). They're also a strong rebounding squad, pulling down 12.5 offensive rebounds per game which ranks 31st in the country.

UP NEXT
If the Highlanders beat No. 6 Charleston Southern, they will go on to face the winner of No. 1 Campbell and No. 4 Gardner-Webb in the Big South Championship game. That contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 in the arena of the highest remaining seed and will air live on ESPN.

FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMBB on Twitter, 'radfordmbb' on Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.

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