Men's Basketball 12/28/2022 9:03:00 AM

Radford and UNC Asheville Kick Off Conference Play on Thursday

RADFORD, Va. – Radford starts fresh as Big South Conference play finally gets underway with a Thursday afternoon contest at UNC Asheville.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: UNC Asheville Bulldogs (8-5, 0-0 Big South)
Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 29 at 4:00 p.m.
Location: Kimmel Arena (Asheville, N.C.)

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Watch: CLICK HERE (ESPN+)
Listen: CLICK HERE (WRAD 101.7 FM)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE

SERIES HISTORY
Radford and UNC Asheville have played 78 games against each other all-time, and the series is split right down the middle at 39-39. Dating back to March 1986, these two programs boast one of the oldest and most exciting rivalries in the history of the Highlanders.

The Bulldogs have done well to protect their home court, going 24-15 in Asheville. They did eek out a 78-74 overtime win in Radford in the most recent meeting, which many fans will remember well thanks to Drew Pember's 41-point outburst.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Picked to finish third and receiving two first-place votes in the 2022-23 Big South Preseason Poll, expectations were high coming into the season for the Bulldogs. Those expectations then skyrocketed when they went to UCF in their season opener and came away with a 98-95 win in double overtime.

UNC Asheville has come back down to Earth a little bit since then, trading solid wins against Western Carolina and ETSU with losses to Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State, N.C. Central, and Dayton. None of those results matter in the long run and a squad featuring Big South Preseason Player of the Year Drew Pember can beat anyone on any given night.

Leading the team with 18.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, Pember leads the entire nation with 81 free throws made. He gets it done on the defensive end as well, ranking fifth in the nation with 36 blocks. Taijon Jones (14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds) and Jamon Battle (10.8 points, 4.9 rebounds) flank him in a dangerous offense.

GILES RACKS UP AWARDS
Freshman guard Kenyon Giles continues to play bigger than his actual size and is being recognized for it time and time again. The Chesapeake, Va. native dropped 20 points at Kansas State before the holiday break and was named Big South Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season.

He becomes the fifth player in program history to garner the honor four times or more, joining Carlik Jones (7 times), Anthony Walker (5 times), Whit-Holcomb Faye (4 times), and Amir Johnson (4 times).

PIERCE PLAYS
Every team in college basketball is unfortunately forced to deal with injury issues and the Highlanders are no different. Standing at an imposing 6'10", junior center D'Auntray Pierce hasn't played much this season due to injury concerns, but he may have turned the corner in the most recent contest.

The Western Wyoming Community College product played a season-high 10 minutes at Kansas State after playing a total of 10 minutes in Radford's first 12 games of the year. His size and shot-blocking ability could add a new wrinkle to Radford's game plan going into conference play if he can continue to play meaningful minutes in the post.

ROANOKE TIMES PREVIEW
Mark Berman from The Roanoke Times talked with Head Coach Darris Nichols on Tuesday to look back at non-conference play and preview the Big South portion of the schedule. CLICK HERE to read the article.

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.

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