EVANSVILLE. Ind. – The Radford men's basketball program posted one of the greatest comebacks in school history as the Highlanders erased a 22-point deficit to stun Evansville by a 92-81 margin inside the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon.
After the Aces led by as many as 22 in the first half and 18 at the break, Radford completely flipped the script in the second half with 60 points off an 81.5 percent clip from the field and a 72.7 percent mark from three.
With the come-from-behind win, the Highlanders have now improved to 3-1, the best start to a season since 2018-19.
Evansville took its biggest lead of the game at 44-22 inside the five-minute mark. While Radford closed the gap slightly, making it a 50-32 game at the break, the Aces were feeling pretty good about their chances, up 18 with 20 minutes to go.
But the Highlanders had other plans.
Radford opened the final period on a 16-0 run to get within two points with 15 minutes left to play and went on to knot the game up at 67-67 at the nine-minute mark.
The Highlanders would take their first lead in over 29 minutes as the two sides continued to battle, with four lead changes over the next two minutes that resulted in a 76-75 Radford advantage with 5:27 remaining.
With a 78-76 edge with 4:14 on the clock, the Highlanders scored the next eight in a row to go up 86-76 with just 2:31 left. The run was too much for Evansville to handle as Radford cruised to the 11-point, 92-81 win.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 92, Evansville – 81
LOCATION: Ford Center (Evansville, Indiana)
RECORDS: RU: 3-1 (0-0 BSC), UE: 1-3 (0-0 MVC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Jarvis Moss once again led the charge with his first career 30-point outing. He shot 11-of-15 (.733) from the field and a near perfect 5-of-7 (.714) from beyond the arc. Moss also chipped in four rebounds, four assists and tied for the game-high with three steals. The Concord, North Carolina native has gone for 23-plus points in three straight contests and now leads the Big South Conference in scoring at 21.0 points per game. The 30 points were also the second-most scored in a game by a Big South student-athlete so far this year. To make his afternoon even more impressive, Moss had just two points at the half and dropped 28 in the final 20 minutes.
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Brandon Maclin made it two Highlanders with 20-plus points as he racked up 21 points, a game-best seven helpers, five boards and three swipes.
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Ibu Yamazaki was next with 10 points off a 4-of-5 contest from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from three. He also chipped in two rebounds, one assist and a block. Eight of his 10 points came in the second half as he knocked down multiple big shots to help Radford get the victory. After missing all of last year due to injury, Yamazaki is shooting a blistering 65.0 percent from the field (13-of-20) and 63.6 from behind the three-point line (7-of-11) to start the year.
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Isaiah Gaines (eight points, five rebounds),
Josiah Harris (six points, five boards, one steal),
David Early (six points, one rebound, two assists),
Tony Felder (three points, three boards, two helpers),
TJ NeSmith (two points, one rebound),
Chace Davis (two points),
Truth Harris (two points) and
Zion Walker (two points) also contributed in the big win.
- Radford did it once again with a total team effort as 11 student-athletes scored at least two points and 12 Highlanders checked into the contest overall.
- Radford also held a large edge in points in the paint (40 to 20) and bench points (28 to 10).
- The 60 second half points were just six points shy for most points scored in a half in school history. The Highlanders dropped 66 points in a half twice all-time, back on December 27, 2015 and January 12, 1983.
- It was the first time that Radford has overcome a double-digit deficit since November 20, 2022.
POST GAME PRESSER
NEXT UP
The Highlanders return home for a non-conference clash with Southern Virginia on Monday, November 18 inside the Dedmon Center. Tip is set for 7 PM ET and the
contest will feature Radford's Hoopsgiving celebration! Fans and supporters will receive free admission to the game with a donation of three canned food items (per person) to benefit the Highlander Pantry, Radford University's on-campus food pantry.
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