CANCUN, Mexico – The Radford men's basketball team shot 50.0% from the field and a blistering 64.7% from beyond the arc to fend off Morgan State, 82-72, in the first game of the first game of the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division tournament.
 
Graduate forward Chandler Turner starred for the Highlanders (3-3), scoring 17 points and adding eight rebounds in the winning effort. The Bowling Green transfer went 5-for-7 for 13 points in the first half, matching his season high which he previously set against Marshall. He'd go on to surpass it in the second half, just missing a second double-double this year.
 
Junior forward Justin Archer gave Radford huge minutes in the second half, recording a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double, his second of the season and fifth of his career.
 
Meanwhile, the Bears (2-4) were paced by redshirt senior guard Wynston Tabbs, who exploded for 31 points on just 19 shot attempts. 
 
Both teams got off to a slow start on the offensive end, combining for 16 fouls and 12 turnovers in the first half alone. The Highlanders took a 37-29 lead into the halftime break, with both teams going on runs to make things interesting.
 
The score read 29-23 with exactly three minutes to go in the period before back-to-back three-pointers from Kenyon Giles and Chandler Turner gave Radford the clear momentum. A big stop on the defensive end then led to a Giles turnaround jumper, making it 37-23 in favor of the Highlanders, forcing a MSU timeout.
 
As has happened far too often this season, the opposition put together a run of its own right before halftime, however. The Bears knocked down a pair of free throws and made two shots in the paint to close out the first 20 minutes with a 6-0 run and grab the momentum right back.
 
It was a different story in the second half as both teams caught fire and traded shot after shot. Senior guard Bryan Antoine had just one point in the first half, but he ignited the Highlanders offense with a pair of threes early in the second period to set the tone.
 
Radford's lead ebbed and flowed, expanding and detracting no matter what it did. Tabbs and redshirt junior forward Will Thomas kept the Bears in it until the very end, when an Antoine steal followed by two clutch free throws sealed the victory.
 
NOTES & STATS

• This is the 16^th annual playing of the Cancun Challenge. It is Radford's first-ever time participating in the tournament
• Morgan State's first and final lead of the game came at the 18:39 mark of the first half when the score was 3-2
• Sophomore guard Kenyon Giles scored a team-high 18 points, giving him at least 13 points in all six games to begin the season
• Junior guard Truth Harris drained a trio of three-pointers in a career-best 11-point performance off the bench
• The game marked the first time Radford has had five different scorers in double figures since Dec. 12, 2021 against N.C. Central

 
UP NEXT
With the win, the Highlanders will now face the winner of Northern Colorado and Chicago State who face off at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. The third and final game of the Cancun Challenge for Radford is set to tip off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22 with a live stream available for purchase on FloHoops.
 
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