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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
jones
86
Winner Hampton HAM-MBB 15-18 (8-10)
78
Radford RAD 21-11 (15-3)
Winner
Hampton HAM-MBB
15-18 (8-10)
86
Final
78
Radford RAD
21-11 (15-3)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hampton HAM-MBB 39 47 86
Radford RAD 34 44 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MEN’S BASKETBALL’S COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT IN SEMIFINALS

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team fell to No. 5 Hampton, 86-78, in the semifinals of the Hercules Tires Big South Championship on Friday night.
 
After falling behind by as many as 19 with 5:59 to play in the contest, Radford (21-11, 15-3 Big South) cut the lead to as low as seven with 2:00 minutes to play but Carlik Jones' career-high tying 33 points and Travis Fields, Jr.'s 22 wasn't enough.
 
Hampton (15-18, 8-10 Big South) scored five straight to go ahead by 12 points with 1:03 to play. The Highlanders cut it to nine after a Fields Jr., layup with 24 seconds remaining, but Jermaine Marrow knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead back to double-digits. Marrow led all players with 36 points and Ben Stanley contributed 26 in the game.
 
Marrow and Jones went toe-to-toe in the first half as Jones tallied 14 points, while Marrow had 22. The Pirates shot 55.6 percent in the first half and went 50 percent from the 3-point line. Marrow had five of Hampton's six 3-pointers in the first half. 
 
The Highlanders took a quick 18-11 lead midway through the first half. Jones had 14 of the team's 18 points at the time. Hampton went on a 9-2 run and took a 22-20 lead on a Stanley layup. 
 
Radford cut it to a five point game before the break and two points at the 18:38 mark of the second half with another big bucket by Fields Jr. The Pirates then took a 13-point lead racing to an 11-0 run. Fields Jr., scored five straight points and cut into the lead, 55-48, but Hampton pressed forward and created a lead that the Highlander's couldn't overcome, despite a 14-2 run over 3:44 to make it a three possession game with just two minutes left.
 
Hampton let the Highlanders get back into the game with a 50 percent free throw percentage – 45 in the second half. On the other end the Highlanders shot 85 percent from the charity stripe, behind Jones' 13-for-14 performance.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
Radford is 0-10 this season when being outshot by teams from the field. The Highlanders are 8-12 all-time in Big South Championship semifinal conference.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jones and Fields Jr., combined for 55 points in the contest. The duo were the only two Highlanders in double-figures. Devonnte Holland only played five minutes in the first half after getting into early foul trouble. He finished with a near double-double after notching seven points and 10 rebounds. Radford finished with a 41.5 field goal percentage and 31.8 percent from the 3-point line. Radford outrebounded the Pirates, 41-30.

TWEET OF THE GAME  
QUOTABLE
"We've played these guys three times now," Mike Jones opened. "They are an explosive offensive team. We know it's never easy to stop them and at any moment they can go off. [Jermaine] Marrow was playing with a lot of confidence after last night's win and shot the ball extremely well. Give credit to them and their coaching staff for getting them ready, and to their players for what they did. But I'll rock with my guys any day. I love these guys and their effort. We played for 40 minutes and these guys never quit. That's what we preach every day and I'm proud of their efforts."

UP NEXT
Radford will find out its landing spot for the National Invitational Tournament on Sunday, March 15th in the NIT Selection Show aired on ESPNU at 8:30 p.m.
 
FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMBB on Twitter, 'radfordmbb' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.
 
 
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