Men's Basketball 12/30/2022 10:14:00 AM

Radford Welcomes Presbyterian For New Year's Eve Hoops

RADFORD, Va. – After a grueling five-game road swing, the Highlanders finally return home to the comfy confines of the Dedmon Center where they'll host the Presbyterian Blue Hose on New Year's Eve.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Presbyterian Blue Hose (5-9, 0-0 Big South)
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center (Radford, Va.)

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

SERIES HISTORY
In 28 all-time meetings, Radford owns a 19-9 record against Presbyterian, including a 16-7 mark as Big South rivals.

The Highlanders hosted the Blue Hose on Nov. 14, 2007 for the first-ever meeting between the two programs and came away with a 68-54 victory. Radford's dominance in the series was most pronounced during a nine-game winning streak between 2017 and 2020, but PC has won each of the last two meetings.

Presbyterian came to the NRV and left with a 78-70 win over Radford in the most recent meeting (2/5/22). Josiah Jeffers led the Highlanders with 18 points, but Rayshon Harrison – who has since transferred to Grand Canyon – went off for 22 points while Marquis Barnett and Trevon Reddish-Rhone had 15 points each.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE
With expectations once again low for a PC program trying to rebuild under head coach Quinton Ferrell, the Blue Hose got off to an 0-6 start against Division I foes this season. They've since righted the ship and shown they may be more than most teams bargained for, however, earning wins over VMI, Elon, and Campbell while just narrowly losing to College of Charleston and South Carolina.

Scoring just 65.6 points per game, defense is PC's calling card and they're third in the Big South with 68.4 points allowed on average. They post 5.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per contest, while crashing the boards for a +2.0 rebounding margin.

Team leader and fifth-year veteran Winston Hill sustained an unfortunate hip injury seven games into the 2022-23 campaign, so the Blue Hose rely heavily on junior guard Crosby James (10.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Marquis Barnett (9.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) to carry the load. James and Barnett have been joined by Owen McCormack, Trevon Reddish-Rhone, and Terrell Ard, Jr. in the starting lineup in every game this year.

ARCHER'S ARC
Sophomore forward Justin Archer's importance to the Highlanders continues to grow. After coming off the bench in the first six games of the season, the North Brunswick, N.J. native was inserted into the starting lineup and has stayed there ever since.

Dating back to the William & Mary game on Nov. 23, Archer has grabbed five or more rebounds in eight out of nine games, including 12 boards at Eastern Kentucky and 11 at UNC Asheville.

His spark has come on offense and defense too; he is shooting 67.3% from the floor and is now up to 10 blocks overall, with six coming in just the last four games.

HOME SWEET HOME
There is a stark contrast in records across the entire Big South Conference when you compare home and away games. The league's 10 teams are a combined 44-9 at home and 12-56 on the road, showing just how important it's going to be to win on your home court this season.

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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