LORETTO, Pa. - The Radford men's basketball program continued one of its best starts to a season in school history as the Highlanders knocked off Saint Francis, 79-70 in a non-conference clash inside DeGol Arena on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Radford is off to its hottest start in nearly 35 years with a 7-2 record on the young season. It is the best start to a year since the Highlanders went 8-1 to open the 1990-91 campaign.
It was also the third straight win for Radford overall and improved the team to 7-1 over their last eight games played.
The Highlanders took over the lead at 14-13 with 13:52 left in the first half and never gave it back in another dominant performance. The opening 20 minutes was highlighted by a 8-0 run in the final 83 seconds that gave Radford a 44-31 lead at the half.
Saint Francis was able to cut it as close to seven on two separate occasions in the second half, but as has been the case all season, the Highlanders responded when it mattered most as the Red Flash got no closer in the nine-point victory.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford - 79, Saint Francis - 70
LOCATION: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pennsylvania)
RECORDS: RU 7-2 (0-0 Big South), SFU: 3-6 (0-0 NEC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brandon Maclin led the way with a game-high 22 points. The Jackson, Tennessee native went 7-of-11 from the field (.636), 6-of-9 from three (.667) and tied for the game-best in both steals (two) and blocks (two). He also added four rebounds and one assist to round out his afternoon. The 22 points tied for the 24th-most scored by a Big South student-athlete so far this season.
- Truth Harris made a huge impact off the bench with 16 points, three boards and three assists. He continued to be the spark plug the offense has needed as he shot 4-of-7 overall (.571) to go with clips of 50 percent from beyond the arc (2-of-4) and a perfect 100 percent at the charity stripe (6-of-6). The strong showing was just two points off from tying a career high in points.
- Josiah Harris almost had another double-double with 12 points, eight boards, two rejections, two helpers and a steal. It was his fourth double-digit game in points and fourth contest with eight-plus rebounds. The Wilmington, Delaware native is now averaging 9.6 boards over his last three games.
- Jarvis Moss chipped in nine points and three assists.
- Ibu Yamazaki added seven points, five boards, three helpers and a block.
- Chace Davis (five points), Isaiah Gaines (four points, five rebounds) and Zion Walker (four points, two boards, one assist) also made an impact on the stat sheet.
- The depth of the Highlanders was on display once again with eight student-athletes on the score sheet and 10 different student-athletes checking into the contest overall.
- Radford was efficient across the board with a 50-percent mark from the field (24-of-48), 42.3-percent from three (11-of-26) and 80-percent at the line (20-of-25).
- The Highlanders once again doubled-up an opponent in bench points (25 to 11) and have now finished with 25-plus bench points in eight of their nine games so far this season.
A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS
POST GAME PRESSER
NEXT UP
The Highlanders hit the road for a non-conference showdown against North Carolina Central on Thursday, December 5. Tip is set for 7 PM ET from McDougald-McLendon Arena. Fans and supporters can watch the game nationwide on ESPN+ and can
listen along anywhere in the country on WRAD.
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