LEXINGTON, Va. – Leading for 36 minutes and 44 seconds, the Radford men's basketball team succumbed to a relentless comeback effort by VMI in a 77-74 loss at Cameron Hall on Saturday afternoon.
With the Highlanders leading 69-67 and just two and a half minutes left to play, the Keydets did an excellent job of creating mismatches on the offensive end. Radford's big men were put in one-on-one situations against Tony Felder three consecutive possessions and the freshman guard laid the ball in all three times.
Bryan Antoine scored a quick basket to pull within two at 74-72, but his game-tying shot the next time down was erased by a charge call. In fact, Radford turned the ball over eight times in the second half and four of those were charge calls.
VMI made four free throws in crunch time, icing the game and making
DaQuan Smith's three-pointer in the waning moments go for naught.
One of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, VMI lived up to its reputation, going 11-for-20 (55%) from long range. That was just part of their dominant offensive effort, as the Keydets also shot 57% from the field and 71% at the free throw line.
In a historic series between the two Commonwealth programs, the Keydets take a 22-21 lead all-time and improve to 5-6 on the season while the Highlanders drop to 6-4.
Reigning Big South Freshman of the Week
Kenyon Giles found his shooting groove once again, going 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc to score a career-high 21 points.
Josiah Jeffers recorded five assists, giving him five or more for the seventh time this season while
Onyebuchi Ezeakudo matched his five assists for a new career high.
Coach Nichols had his team ready to go from the jump as the Highlanders entered hostile territory and immediately jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Keydets road the energy of their classmates filling the stands, battling back to make it a game, however.
Radford's lead ballooned to as many as 13 (36-23) with 5:34 to play before halftime. With the chance to surge even farther ahead, VMI's leading scorer Sean Conway stepped up and scored eight unanswered points by himself, pulling his squad within five.
The Keydets hot shooting just kept going, coming all the way back to make it a one-point affair as the clock ticked towards zero.
Kenyon Giles came around a screen and drilled a deep three at the buzzer to give Radford a four-point lead at the break.
Unfortunately, that momentum did not translate to the second half of another tough loss to swallow.
KEY STATS
- VMI controlled the boards, earning a 30-25 advantage in rebounding
- Radford's bench out-scored VMI's bench 33-1
- The loss mark's the Highlanders first of the season when leading a game at halftime
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
UP NEXT
Radford heads to Richmond for a highly anticipated matchup with VCU on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Siegel Center, with all the action 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.
