SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior guard Josiah Jeffers made a triumphant return to the lineup with a career-high 23 points, leading the Radford men's basketball team to an 82-77 victory over USC Upstate at the G.B. Hodge Center on Thursday evening.
 
The Highlanders (5-8, 1-0 Big South) win their Big South opener for the seventh straight season and improve to 6-0 all-time against the USC Upstate Spartans (3-10, 0-1 Big South).
 
Jeffers missed the Highlanders' last couple of games due to a broken nose and concussion suffered at JMU. The Burlington, N.C. native was aggressive from the opening tip and finished 6-for-10 from the field and 10-for-13 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Lewis Djonkam and Rashun Williams chipped in 12 points each, going a combined 8-for-12 and pulling down nine rebounds between the two of them. As a team, Radford shot 50.7% (27-53), hitting the target on seven 3-pointers and making 21-of-27 attempts at the charity stripe.
 
The Spartans were locked in through the first 20 minutes, shooting a scorching hot 53.3% (8-15) from three and 90.9% (10-11) on free throws to take a 44-39 lead into the break.
 
In a game with 18 lead changes and seven ties, it was always going to take one big run for a team to pull away enough to win the game and to the Highlanders' credit, it was them. Trailing 62-60 with just over seven minutes left to play, the visitors dominated on both ends of the floor for nearly six minutes straight and went on a 14-0 streak.
 
The Highlanders' lead increased to as much as 18, but the Spartans did well to draw fouls and hit clutch threes down the stretch. Radford answered with eight made free throws in the final two minutes to stand strong and seal the win.
 
KEY STATS

• Redshirt junior forward Dravon Mangum made his first start of the season, 23^rd start for Radford, and 36^th overall start in his career
• Freshman guard Derrick Jones Jr. scored five points in a span of 16 seconds, including his first made 3-pointer at the collegiate level, to set a new career-high in points
• Sophomore guard Tai'Reon Joseph only played for nine minutes, but his defense propelled him to a game-high 11 +/- when he was on the floor
• Radford dominated in paint points (38-14), fast break points (18-5) and bench points (33-18)

 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Longwood 109, Pfeiffer 69
Gardner-Webb 88, Charleston Southern 63
UNC Asheville 60, Campbell 54
N.C. A&T 65, Presbyterian 57
 
NEXT UP
The Highlanders return to Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center for the first time since Nov. 30 when they take on Big South newcomer North Carolina A&T on Saturday, Jan. 8. Radford women's basketball will take the court at 2 p.m. and then the men will play at approximately 4:30 p.m. with both games being streamed live on ESPN+.
 
FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordHoops on Twitter, 'radfordhoops' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.