Men's Basketball 2/19/2020 2:21:00 PM

RADFORD WELCOMES UNC ASHEVILLE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT TILT ON ESPNU

RADFORD, Va. – The red-hot Highlanders look to continue their great play on Thursday night as UNC Asheville comes to the Dedmon Center for a nationally-televised game on ESPNU. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.

Radford (17-9, 12-2 Big South) has won seven straight games, including a 73-60 victory over Campbell in Buies Creek on Saturday. The Highlanders outscored Campbell by 15 in the second half and saw Devonnte Holland score 17 of his career-high 19 points in the half. Radford shot a blistering 59.4 percent in the second half and put up 43 points.

The big men have been playing at a high-caliber level as of late as Holland averaged 11-plus points and just over six rebounds in three games last week, while Devine Eke nearly averaged a double-double. Eke ranks third in the Big South averaging 7.0 rebounds. He's averaging 7.4 boards per outing against conference opponents, which is also third-best in the league.

Another player in the conference's top three in various categories is Carlik Jones. The Cincinnati, Ohio native ranks third in points per game (19.7) and assists (5.3). He's tallied 14 games with 20 points or more this season but has scored just under that threshold in the last three games.

Donald Hicks has been on fire from beyond the arc in recent games. He's hit 14 3-pointers through the last five games and has multiple 3-pointers in 11 games this season. The Chesapeake, Va., native is 17 points shy of becoming the 33rd player in Radford history to record 1,000 career points.

The Highlanders are looking to win their eighth straight Big South games for the first time since 2014-15. Radford ranks first in conference games in scoring defense (67.1), FG percentage (48.1) and FG defense (40.7).

Radford's last loss came on Jan. 23 and it was to UNC Asheville at Kimmel Arena.

The Bulldogs (12-13, 6-8 Big South) enter the matchup having won two in a row in conference play. They took down Longwood, 73-71, Thursday night, led by 18 points apiece from Tajion Jones and LJ Thorpe. Saturday, UNC Asheville topped Charleston Southern, 79-75 behind a 27-point outburst from DeVon Baker – his fifth 20-point outing of the season. Baker leads the team with 16.8 points per game.

With their victory at home against Charleston Southern, the Bulldogs won their 12th game of the season, tripling their win total from all of last year. The Bulldogs have won eight more games than they did a season ago, which is tied for the second-best turnaround in the country this season with three other programs.

UNC Asheville ranks fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.2 per game, and they rank Top 55 in the country in fewest total turnovers. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only three of 25 games this season. UNC Asheville has forced its opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game, which ranks 14th in the country. The team also averages 8.4 steals per game, ranking 25th in the nation.

The Bulldogs are averaging 76.2 points per game, ranking third in the Big South and 57th nationally. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game.

Thursday's game can be seen on national television on ESPNU. The game can also be heard live online through Stretch Internet or radio outlets, WRAD 101.7 FM and WVRU 89.9 FM.

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