Highlanders Bounce Back, Cruise To 90-71 Win In Charleston

Saturday, February 11

Charleston, SC

5:30 PM

Radford University

17-10,11-3Big South

Charleston Southern

8-17,4-10Big South

Team	1	2	F
Radford	45	45	90
Charleston So.	33	38	71

Highlanders Bounce Back, Cruise To 90-71 Win In Charleston

2/11/2023 7:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Radford men's basketball team bounced back in a big way on Saturday night, cruising to a 90-71 victory over Charleston Southern thanks to a superb offensive performance inside the Buc Dome.

As a team, the Highlanders (17-10, 11-3 Big South) shot 55.2% (32-58) from the floor, including 40.0% (8-20) from deep, and a sterling 85.7% (18-21) at the free throw line. At the same time, Charleston Southern (8-17, 4-10 Big South) shot a solid 48.3% (29-60) overall but were held well below their averages from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe.

The trio of Bryan Antoine, DaQuan Smith, and Shaquan Jules paced Radford the entire night, combining for 52 points on 67.9% (19-28) shooting in an extremely efficient outing for the veteran players.

Antoine and Smith led the way with 19 points apiece as each guard knocked down three three-pointers each. Jules had 14 points of his own while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. The big man now has 32 points and 22 rebounds across two games against CSU this season.

Josiah Jeffers stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds and four assists while Justin Archer added nine points/six rebounds and Onyebuchi Ezeakudo contributed eight points three rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Buccaneers had the advantage early, racing out to an 8-2 lead to start the game before Radford caught fire and answered with a 14-2 run. The game turned into one defined by its runs as both teams traded them throughout the first half, but it was the Highlanders who created the most.

The visitors led 45-33 at halftime and proceeded to dominate in the second stanza, growing that lead to as many as 25 points (64-39) with 13:28 to play.

Four different CSU players reached double figure scoring numbers in an attempt to erase the deficit, but the difference hovered around 20 points for the rest of the night as Coach Nichols' squad impressed for all 40 minutes.

KEY STATS

Radford cleaned up on the glass, pulling down 36 rebounds compared to just 28 for the Buccaneers
The Highlanders scored 46 of their 90 points in the paint
Both RJ Johnson and Kalib Clinton fouled out for Charleston Southern
CSU coughed the ball up 12 times thanks to eight steals by Radford

HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME

2H | 14:03
Radford 64, CSU 39

Jo draws the defense in and Ibu makes 'em pay with a corner three! #RiseAndDefend?? x #BigSouthMBB pic.twitter.com/zV5c3q4QcA
— Radford Men's Basketball (@RadfordHoops) February 11, 2023

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
UNC Asheville 76, Presbyterian 72
Gardner-Webb 77, Campbell 73
USC Upstate 79, Winthrop 70

UP NEXT
The Highlanders host their third and final ESPNU Wildcard game this Thursday, Feb. 16 inside the Dedmon Center. They'll take on the UNC Asheville Bulldogs and fans can see the battle between the top two teams in the Big South by purchasing tickets at RadfordTickets.com.

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.