Men's Basketball 1/25/2023 11:58:00 AM

Radford Takes National Stage Against Longwood For Thursday Night ESPNU Broadcast

RADFORD, Va. – Radford basketball returns to the national stage as the Highlanders face off against Longwood inside the Dedmon Center on Thursday night.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Longwood Lancers (15-6, 7-1 Big South)
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center (Radford, Va.)

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Watch: CLICK HERE (ESPNU)
Listen: CLICK HERE (WRAD 101.7 FM)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Buy Tickets: RadfordTickets.com

SERIES HISTORY
While Radford has completely dominated the all-time series with Longwood on the hardwood, those days are over with the emergence of the Lancers as a perennial title contender in the Big South.

The Highlanders are 27-9 in 38 meetings with Longwood, dating back to a 130-59 victory in 1977. Radford has put together multiple win streaks against its in-state foe, including a 10-game stretch from 2017 to 2020 in which the Highlanders came out on top every single time.

Longwood halted that streak with an 83-75 overtime win on Jan. 12, 2023 and then doubled up on it with another win in the return game a month later, giving the Lancer a two-game streak heading into Thursday night.

Radford is 16-2 against LWU in the Dedmon Center, a lopsided number that will certainly be revisited after Thursday night.

SCOUTING THE LANCERS
There's only one team in the conference with a better scoring margin this season than Radford and that's Longwood. Picked to finish first in the 2022-23 Big South Preseason Poll following a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season, Head Coach Griff Aldrich has his Lancers rolling and tied for the top spot in the current standings.

Veteran guard Isaiah Wilkins is the unquestioned leader of this Longwood program, and his play is showing that as well. He leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) as well as second in steals and third in blocks.

His running mate, DeShaun Wade, has been solid once again with 10.4 points per game, but its Southern Miss transfer Walyn Napper who has been the biggest difference maker this year. In his first campaign as a Lancer, Napper is putting up 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while leading the team in assists and steals.

As a team, Longwood ranks 68^th in the nation with 20.2 free throw attempts per game and 51^st in the nation with a +5.0 rebounding margin. A +2.5 turnover margin has also been huge for them, ranking top-50 in the country.

GAME DAY PROMOTIONS

The first 200 students to arrive at the Dedmon Center will receive a free 8-piece nugget, chips, and a Pepsi product from Chick-Fil-A
All Radford Athletics student-athletes who earned a 3.0 GPA or better this fall will be honored at halftime
Members of the Radford Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) while be recognized during a media timeout
This week begins the annual Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, meaning Radford's coaching staff will be wearing a commemorative pin on their lapels
It is Radford University 2^nd year student night to boot!

BENCH BATTLE
Radford ranks 46^th in the nation with 25.6 bench points per game while Longwood is even better, getting 28.1 bench points per game to rank 21^st out of 363 teams in the country. This is a sure-fire sign of each team's depth, and a major reason why both squads are near the top of the standings.

Kenyon Giles and his 11.0 points per contest lead the way off the bench for the Highlanders while Josiah Jeffers (8.3 points) and Shaquan Jules (7.4 points) add even more scoring punch. Longwood deploys Walyn Napper and his 10.3 points per game off the bench at times while Leslie Nkereuwem (8.5 points), Michael Christmas (7.8 points) and Nate Lliteras (6.5 points) make major contributions as well.

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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Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#13 Shaquan Jules: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#3 Kenyon Giles: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#13 Shaquan Jules
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#3 Kenyon Giles
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers

#13 Shaquan Jules

#3 Kenyon Giles

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers

#13 Shaquan Jules

#3 Kenyon Giles