COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Radford men's basketball program put an absolute scare into the SEC's South Carolina, but at the end the Gamecocks were able to pull away for a 74-48 non-conference victory inside Colonial Life Arena on Sunday afternoon.
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Highlanders as Radford held a 36-30 advantage at the break before South Carolina turned it on and finished the final 20 minutes on a 44-12 run to escape with the victory.
 
The Highlanders held a six-point lead at the intermission and took a 40-35 edge with 16:34 left to play, but the Gamecocks closed the game with a 39-8 run to seal the win.
 
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford - 48, South Carolina - 74
LOCATION: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, South Carolina)
RECORDS: RU 10-5 (0-0 Big South), USC 9-3 (0-0 SEC)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TJ NeSmith led the offensive attack with a season-best 14 points to go along with five rebounds. The Burlington, North Carolina native went 5-of-8 from the field (.625) and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe (1.000). He set a season-high in free throw attempts and tied his Radford career-best in made free throws in a single game.
- Jarvis Moss was next with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. It was his fifth straight game in double figures in scoring and his 10th game with double digit points overall. He also recorded his first rejection of the season in the contest. Moss tied for the team-high in steals.
- Josiah Harris chipped in eight points, five rebounds, a block and a steal in 22 minutes of work.
- Brandon Maclin (one board, two assists, two swipes), Ibu Yamazaki (one rebound), Zion Walker and Jonas Sirtautas (one board) all finished with four points apiece, respectively.
- Radford shot 45.16 percent from the floor and 85.71 percent at the line in the opening half but posted marks of just 20.83 and 33.33 percent in the final 20 minutes.
- The Highlanders recorded 28 points in the paint which accounted for 58.33 percent of the offense.
- Radford added 22 bench points, 10 points off turnovers and nine second chance points.
- The contest featured six times that the score was tied and four lead changes overall.
- The Highlanders led for 11:11 in the opening frame and an additional 5:43 in the second half. Radford played with the lead for nearly 17 minutes of the contest overall.
- South Carolina was coming off a 91-88 win over No. 25 Clemson and won its sixth straight and seventh in eight games at home.
- It was the first meeting between the Highlanders and Gamecocks all-time.
 
NEXT UP
Radford will take a short break for the holidays before returning with the highly anticipated and nationally televised Big South opener against rival High Point on Thursday, January 2. Tip is set for 7 PM ET inside the Qubein Center. The conference clash will be played in front of a national audience on ESPNU and can also be heard anywhere in the country on WRAD.
 
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