Dominant Second Half Leads to 66-52 Win At Winthrop

Wednesday, January 11

Rock Hill, SC

7:00 PM

Radford University

9-9, 3-2BSC

Winthrop

7-11, 2-3BSC

Team	1	2	F
Radford	31	35	66
WINTHROP	31	21	52

Photo by: Rob Simmons

Dominant Second Half Leads to 66-52 Win At Winthrop

1/11/2023 9:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ROCK HILL, S.C. – A gritty, physical performance that included a dominant second half led to a 66-52 victory for Radford men's basketball over Winthrop inside Winthrop Coliseum on Wednesday night.

With the game tied at 31-all after 20 minutes, Head Coach Darris Nichols had his team ready to play in the second half and it showed. The Highlanders (9-9, 3-2 Big South) held the Eagles (7-11, 2-3 Big South) to just six made field goals on 16 attempts, outscoring the hosts 35-21 in that span.

Radford's defense never relented, bringing an intensity that kept Winthrop without a single field goal for more than nine minutes – from 16:08 to the 6:35 mark. Even after the Eagles began to mount a comeback that made it a three-possession game, the Highlanders held the opposition scoreless for the final 2:32 of the game.

Redshirt junior guard DaQuan Smith came out of the gates on fire, hitting six of his first nine shots for 14 points in the first half alone. While he didn't score again the rest of the night, junior guard Bryan Antoine picked up where Smith left off and scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half.

Justin Archer continues to play huge minutes for the Highlanders in conference play, contributing 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Antoine and Madiaw Niang were just behind him with six boards apiece.

Staying in the spotlight was freshman phenom Kenyon Giles, who got hot as well to score 13 points, including a trio of buckets from deep.

Kelton Talford posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Eagles, but was forced to earn many of his points on the charity stripe where he went just 7-for-14. No other Eagles player eclipsed eight points.

KEY STATS

Radford bested Winthrop on the glass, 34-to-28
The Highlanders shot exactly 50.0% (26-52) from the field as well as 43.8% (7-16) from three and 70.0% (7-10) on free throws
Meanwhile, the Eagles shot just 37.0% (17-46) overall, 26.9% (7-26) from beyond the arc and 57.9% (11-19) at the line
Radford was whistled for 20 fouls, but no Highlander committed more than three as an individual to stay out of foul trouble
Archer and D'Auntray Pierce had two blocks each

HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME

2H | 14:25
Radford 45, Winthrop 39

Big-time hustle by Sal! He gets it to BA for the old fashioned three-point play#RiseAndDefend?? x #BigSouthMBB pic.twitter.com/V3ccy940Bp
— Radford Men's Basketball (@RadfordHoops) January 12, 2023

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Charleston Southern 106, High Point 69
Campbell 78, USC Upstate 63
Gardner-Webb 79, Presbyterian 78 (OT)

UP NEXT
Radford steps back onto the court this Saturday, Jan. 14 for a 2 p.m. game against Charleston Southern. It is Radford City Public Schools Day and Virginia529 will present the annual Diaper Derby at halftime! Tickets are available on radfordtickets.com and the game 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.