Men's Basketball 1/29/2020 5:53:00 PM

RADFORD AND LONGWOOD SET FOR COMMONWEALTH TILT

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team hits the road for a Thursday night tilt between its second straight Commonwealth foe. This time the Highlanders travel to Willett Hall to meet Longwood at 7 p.m.

Radford (11-9, 6-2 Big South) defeated Hampton, 83-79, on Saturday behind Carlik Jones' career-high 33 points. Jones also added 10 assists to his stat line for his fourth double-double of the season. The 83 points were the most the Highlanders scored in a Big South contest this season.

Jones moved into a tie for 13^th all-time in total points at Radford. He has 1,304 points in a Radford uniform and is averaging 19.7 points this season – the most of any season in his career. The Cincinnati, Ohio native also eclipsed 400 rebounds and 400 assists for his career in his last outing. He ranks 33^rd in the nation in points per game. The redshirt junior also ranks inside the top 50 in five other national categories – assists per game (41^st), total points (37^th), assist turnover ratio (36^th), total assists (43^rd) and free throws made (22^nd).

One point and one rebound shy of a double-double in his last game was Devine Eke, who earned his second straight start on Saturday night. In two of his starts this season, he has not missed a field goal attempt (10-for-10). He made the first six against UNC Asheville and then converted on his next four against Hampton. He's averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Big South.

Travis Fields, Jr., has scored 10 or more points in his last nine games. He ranks 14^th in the conference with 12.4 points per game and sits ninth in assists per game averaging three. The Portsmouth, Va., native leads the team with just under two 3-point field goals per game (1.8), which ranks inside the league's top 10.

With a win, Mike Jones will reach the 150-win mark as a head coach. He's currently third on the all-time wins list at Radford with 149. Joe Davis is second the list with 165, while Ron Bradley is first at 193 wins.

Longwood (7-14, 2-6 Big South) is coming off its second victory in conference play after defeating High Point, 72-62, Saturday on the road. Juan Munoz notched a career-high 27 points including a 12-for-12 performance at the charity stripe against the Panthers. He also knocked down five of the team's 11 3-pointers that night.

Munoz is averaging a team-high 14.3 points in Big South action but Shabooty Phillips leads the squad in overall points per game averaging 11.4. He ranks inside the conference's top 15 with 2.6 assists per outing, however Munoz leads the team with 3.1 – sitting eighth in the Big South.

The Lancers rank as the top free throw shooting squad in conference games with a 77.5 clip. Overall, Longwood ranks second in the Big South at 73.1 percent. LWU has allowed 70.1 points per contest, good for third-lowest in the Big South.

This will be the 32nd meeting between the two schools all-time. Radford holds a 24-7 lead over the Lancers. The Highlanders last loss to the Lancers came on Jan. 17, 2017 - seven games ago. The seven game-winning streak is the longest to date in the series. Radford holds a 9-6 lead over the Lancers inside Willett Hall.

Thursday's game can be seen on ESPN+ or heard live online through Stretch Internet or radio outlets, WRAD 101.7 FM and WVRU 89.9 FM.

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