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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
66
Winthrop Win 11-14,6-6 Big South
69
Winner Radford Rad 16-9,10-2 Big South
Winthrop Win
11-14,6-6 Big South
66
Final
69
Radford Rad
16-9,10-2 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Winthrop Win 36 30 66
Radford Rad 41 28 69
DaQuan Smith

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Radford and Winthrop Trade Blows As Highlanders Win Ninth Straight

RADFORD, Va. – Make it nine straight wins for the Radford men's basketball team as the Highlanders come out on top yet again, 69-66, over Winthrop inside the Dedmon Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The win keeps the Highlanders in sole possession of second place in the Big South as the men in red and white improve to 16-9 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The red-hot Eagles, winners of three straight coming into the game, fall to 11-14 on the year and 6-6 against league foes.
 
While both teams kept the game extremely close for 40 straight minutes, it was DaQuan Smith and Cory Hightower whose performances fueled everything.
 
Smith was called on time and time again to hit big shots and he came up huge, dropping a career-high 24 points on 5-of-12 shooting from deep. The redshirt junior guard has now reached the 20-point mark four times this season after putting up 21 last game.
 
Fans may remember Hightower from his days at Presbyterian before he transferring to Western Carolina. He followed Head Coach Mark Prosser to Winthrop and despite four fouls, made it to the New River Valley to lead his squad with 22 points and six rebounds.
 
The 6'7" forward hit the second of back-to-back threes that opened the scoring for the visitors, but it was Smith who answered with a three of his own. The Eagles pushed their lead to 9-3 until the Highlanders put together a run to go ahead, 10-9, and that momentum carried through to halftime.
 
Winthrop came out on fire in the second half, mounting a 17-4 run that came to an end with 15:06 to go and a 49-43 lead. Radford chipped away and eventually, with shots falling from all over the court, the game was tied, 66-66.
 
Justin Archer couldn't get a call all night, but when he finally heard a whistle after being fouled, he took full advantage and hit both free throws to put Radford ahead by two.
 
Smith put the final cherry on top with a 1-of-2 trip to the line and Winthrop's final prayers went unanswered.
 
KEY STATS
  • Radford's 29 three-point attempts were a season high, passing the 25 triples the team took at Marquette in the season opener
  • The Highlanders moved the ball extremely well on the day, racking up 16 assists. It's the team's most since putting up 17 at VMI and 18 vs. George Washington in the game before that
  • Shaquan Jules (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Justin Archer (8 points, 8 rebounds) both nearly had double-doubles
 
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME  
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Longwood 74, Campbell 50
Gardner-Webb 56, Presbyterian 48
 
UP NEXT
Radford has another huge game coming up this Thursday, Feb. 9 as Gardner-Webb comes to the Dedmon Center for a 7 p.m. contest that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
 
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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