MEN’S HOOPS HITS THE ROAD FOR MIDWEEK TILT WITH GARDNER-WEBB

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – It's a rematch of the 2019 Big South Championship as the Radford men's basketball team travels to Gardner-Webb for a Wednesday night tilt at Paul Porter Arena at 7 p.m.

The last time these two teams met was on March 10, 2019 in the Big South Tournament Championship. Gardner-Webb came out on top and was the Big South's representative in the NCAA Tournament. The Highlanders were led by Donald Hicks, who went 5-for-6 from 3-point range and ended with 17 points. Carlik Jones also chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Wednesday will mark the 23rd meeting between Radford and Gardner-Webb all-time. 10 of the 23 meetings have taken place inside Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C., and each team has won five. The Highlanders won two of the last three overall meetings but is 4-6 through the last 10 matchups against Gardner-Webb.

Radford hits the road with a three-game winning streak that began with an immense win over Richmond in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 22^nd. Most recently, the Highlanders are fresh off a double-digit victory over High Point to open Big South play. The conference opening win was Radford's fifth in a row and the Highlanders will look to go 2-0 in Big South for the fourth consecutive season.

Jones popped off for 26 points against High Point and tallied six rebounds and five assists. His 18.9 points per game ranks third in the Big South, while his 5.5 assists rank second. The redshirt junior has been stellar from the floor shooting nearly 50 percent (49.4) – good for fifth in the Big South. He even ranks inside the top 10 of the conference's 3-point field goals made list with 1.7 per game. Travis Fields, Jr., sits one spot ahead of him at eighth with 1.8 per outing.

Fields Jr., is having a great senior season with 11.5 points and 3.2 assists per game. He's one of four players that rank inside the Big South's top 20 scoring and top 10 assists. The Portsmouth, Va., native scored 16 in his last outing and a season-high 17 the game before. He leads the team with 30.9 minutes played.

Devine Eke has been a monster on glass averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Big South. The grad transfer from Rider is first in the league in offensive rebounds averaging 3.0 per game. He's four blocks shy of recording 100 for his career. He corralled 50 in his first year at Maine then added 39 in two seasons at Rider and has seven in a Radford uniform for a total of 96.

His strong defensive play is one reason why the Highlanders have allowed the fewest points in the conference. Radford has held opposing teams to an average of 64.0 points per contest, ranking first. The Highlanders have not turned the ball over and sit inside the nation's top 15 in total turnovers (142) and turnovers per game (10.9).

Gardner-Webb was picked to finish second in the Big South in the preseason poll and had a strong start to conference play with a 67-65 road win over Campbell. Then the Runnin' Bulldogs fell to the surprise team of the Big South so far, Presbyterian, in Paul Porter Arena on Saturday. Gardner-Webb shot 25.9 percent from the floor in the first half and 28.8 percent for the game (17-of-59). GWU also misfired on eight free throws (19-of-27) and saw the Blue Hose own a 52-36 advantage on the glass.

Preseason All-Big South First Team member Jose Perez was held to just seven points against PC. He's second on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game, while Eric Jamison Jr., is first averaging 14.9. Perez does lead the team in rebounds (6.7) and assists (3.6) per game.

Jamison Jr., ranks sixth in the conference in scoring, while Perez is at 11^th. The Runnin' Bulldogs have two more players averaging near double-digits. Jaheam Cornwall, the GWU point guard, is averaging 11.3 points and Nate Johnson is on the outside looking in with 9.6. Cornwall is averaging 2.4 3-pointers made per contest, second-most in the league.

It will be a defensive slugfest as the Highlanders and Runnin' Bulldogs rank inside conference's top four in scoring defense. The two programs are also top in the Big South in opposing field goal percentage. Radford sits at the top with opponents shooting 41.6 percent and Gardner-Webb is not far behind holding opposing teams to just 41.7 percent.

The 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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Players Mentioned

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#5 Donald Hicks: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#1 Carlik Jones: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#30 Devine Eke: F; 6' 8"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#5 Donald Hicks
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#1 Carlik Jones
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#30 Devine Eke
: 6' 8"; Graduate Student
: F