RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team showed incredible guts for all 40 minutes, grinding out a 66-64 victory over High Point on Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Highlanders win their third straight game, moving past the Panthers in the Big South North Division standings with just two games left in the regular season. Radford is now 10-16 overall and 6-8 in conference play while HPU falls to 11-17 overall and 5-9 against Big South foes.
Fifth-year senior
Josiah Jeffers, the longest-tenured player on this year's roster, stepped up once again, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He knocked down a season-high three 3-pointers and also added five rebounds.
Junior guard
Artese Stapleton had this third straight standout game, scoring 15 points while tallying three rebounds and three assists. Redshirt junior
Dravon Mangum gave the Highlanders a third double-digit scorer with 11 points of his own.
High Point relied heavily on the trio of Zach Austin, John-Michael Wright, and Alex Holt, who scored 24 points, 13 points, and 12 points respectively.
Radford flew out to a 13-1 lead right off the bat, knocking down four of its first six 3-point attempts and forcing turnovers all over the place. The fantastic Dedmon Center crowd put all its energy behind the team, making for some of the best moments of the season.
The momentum didn't last however, as High Point caught fire and hit shot after shot while playing solid enough defense to make the Highlanders misfire on 13 of their next 14 shots from deep. Radford took a 35-32 lead into halftime, but it was too close for comfort.
The two sides went back-and-forth throughout the second half, jockeying for front position all the way down to the wire. The Highlanders trailed, 62-61, with 2:20 left on the clock following a Zach Austin three, but Stapleton gave the hosts the lead with 59 seconds to go.
He and
Bryan Hart hit clutch free throws and Radford kept the Panthers from hitting another shot in the final minute to seal the victory.
KEY STATS
- Radford scored 24 points off turnovers compared to just 10 for HPU
- The Highlanders turned the ball over a season-low six times
- Chyree Walker grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, his most in a single game since recording nine boards in a win over Eastern Kentucky back in November
- High Point shot 68.2% in the first half and 58.0% for the game
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
NEXT UP
The Highlanders begin one final road swing with a midweek contest at Longwood on Wednesday, Feb. 23. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will be 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.
