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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
fah'mir ali
80
Winner Winthrop Win 17-1,14-1 Big South
64
Radford Rad 13-8,12-3 Big South
Winner
Winthrop Win
17-1,14-1 Big South
80
Final
64
Radford Rad
13-8,12-3 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Winthrop Win 41 39 80
Radford Rad 36 28 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Strong Start Not Enough as Radford Falls to Winthrop

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team got off to a hot start on Thursday night, but it was not enough as the team fell to Winthrop, 80-64, inside the Dedmon Center.   
 
The Highlanders (13-8, 12-3 Big South) began with a blistering start shooting 90.9 percent from the field through the first 10 minutes, hitting 10 of their first 11 shots. The strong offensive performance led to a 31-23 advantage by the Highlanders.
 
Then Winthrop (17-1, 14-1 Big South) hit four of its next seven shots on its way to an 11-0 run and a 34-31 lead with 7:44 in the first half. The spurt grew to 18-5 and gave the Eagles a five-point lead at halftime. The Highlanders hot shooting percentage slipped a bit to 57.7 percent in the first half.
 
Led by DJ Burns, the Eagles opened the second half with a 22-8 run and took its largest lead of the game at the time, 63-44, with 11:04 to play.
 
Radford hasn't been out of any game this season and that didn't change on Thursday night. With 5:30 to play and the Winthrop lead at 19, the 3-pointers started falling for the home team. Dravon Mangum hit a pair and Quinton Morton-Robertson hit another one, leading to a 13-3 run.
 
The late second half run made it a three-possession game with 2:23 to play. However, a Chandler Vaudrin AND-1 on the very next possession pushed the lead back to 12. The lead was too much to overcome under two minutes.
 
Fah'Mir Ali led all players with a career-high 23 points. It was the freshman's second 20-point game and he's still the only Highlander to eclipse the 20-point mark this season. He added four assists, five steals and a couple of rebounds. He knocked down all seven of his free throws he attempted.
 
Ali ended the night shooting 50.0 percent, matching his team. However, the Highlanders only shot 40.9 percent in the second half. Despite winning the points in the paint battle, the Highlanders were outrebounded, 38-24. It's only the second time Radford has been outrebounded by any opponent. The other came against East Carolina back in December.
 
Stat of the Game
The Highlanders have defended home court well this season, just as they have the past three with a 32-8 combined record. Although the first home loss of the 2020-21 season came on Thursday night, Radford still boasts a 39-9 record inside the Dedmon Center since the 2017-18 season.
 
Inside the Box Score
Mangum was the other Highlander in double-figure scoring. He tallied 13 points and knocked down three 3-pointers for his second straight game. Chyree Walker led the Highlanders on the glass with eight rebounds. Morton-Robertson notched his 10th game with multiple 3-pointers. Winthrop was led in scoring by Burns (18), Josh Corbin (17) and Vaudrin (15). Corbin hit a game-best five 3-pointers. Winthrop tallied 25 second chance points and outscored Radford's bench, 32-16.
 
Tweet of the Game  
Quotable
"That was a really good team we played tonight and they played extremely well for most of the game," Mike Jones said. "After we took that lead midway through the first half, they pretty much took control of the game. They controlled the rebounding on both ends. They also got a lot of easy transition 3-pointers – we did a better job with those in the second half. Overall, it wasn't our best defensive performance tonight but I give a lot of credit to them. They're such an explosive offensive team."
 
Up Next
In less than 24 hours, Radford will get a chance for revenge as the two teams meet inside the Dedmon Center on Friday night at 7 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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