DURHAM, N.C. – The Radford men's basketball program continued its historic start to the season with a thrilling, double-digit comeback win over North Carolina Central, 70-67, inside the McDougald-McLendon Arena on Thursday night.
With the victory, the Highlanders have now officially matched the 1990-91 squad who also started the year off with an 8-2 mark for the best start to a season in nearly 35 years. Radford will look to match the 1988-89 team that went on a 9-2 run to start their respective campaign.
The Highlanders opened the game with a 9-0 edge and the group was able to hold a one-point lead at 19-18 with 5:43 left in the opening half. The two sides would continue to go back and forth before a late Eagles run gave the home team a 31-24 advantage through 20 minutes of play.
North Carolina Central would try to pull away and took its largest lead of the contest at 45-29 with 15:12 left in the game. Radford refused to go away however and cut the Eagles lead to single digits at 48-40 with 12:30 remaining.
After the two teams continued to trade blows,
Jarvis Moss tied the game with a clutch three-pointer at 61-61 with 3:25 left on the clock. Radford would then go on to take its first lead since the 5:43 mark of the opening half at 64-61 with 2:36 left off a corner three from
Truth Harris.
The Eagles weren't done just yet as they knotted things up again at 64-64 at the 1:59 mark. After a layup by
Josiah Harris put Radford up two, North Carolina Central would tie things up yet again at 66-66 with just 30 seconds remaining.
It was then
Ibu Yamazaki's turn to play hero as he perfectly drained two free throws to give the Highlanders a two-point advantage at 68-66 with just 21 ticks left.
After a defensive stop,
Brandon Maclin knocked in another free throw to allow Radford to escape with the 70-67 victory.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 70, North Carolina Central - 67
LOCATION: McDougald-McLendon Arena (Durham, North Carolina)
RECORDS: RU 8-2 (0-0 Big South), NCCU 3-7 (0-0 MEAC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Josiah Harris had a career night with 16 points, 16 rebounds and a steal. It was his second double-double of the season and the 16 boards were the most recorded by a Big South Conference student-athlete in a game so far this season.
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Truth Harris continued his strong play with another huge game off the bench as the Mount Vernon, New York native dropped 15 points, two rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes of work. He was extremely efficient with marks of 4-of-9 from the field (.444), 2-of-4 from three (.500) and 5-of-7 (.714) at the charity stripe. Harris has now gone for 12-plus points in each of his last three games, a stretch where he is averaging 14.3 points per contest.
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Ibu Yamazaki chipped in nine points and seven boards to go with hitting the game-winning free throws with just seconds on the clock.
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Isaiah Gaines (eight points, six rebounds, two helpers, two swipes, one block) and
Jarvis Moss (seven points, team-best three assists, two steals) also made their impact felt in the win.
- Seeing his first extended run of the season,
Jonas Sirtautas was a key difference-maker in the second half comeback as he patrolled the top of the zone once Radford switched its defense in the final 20 minutes of action. He finished the game with five points, three rebounds, two swipes and one helper in just nine minutes of action.
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David Early (five points, one board),
Brandon Maclin (three points, the rebounds, one assist) and
Chace Davis (two points) also chipped in on the score sheet.
- Nine different Highlanders notched at least two points and 12 different student-athletes checked into the contest overall.
- Radford posted 27 points off the bench and have now finished with 25-plus bench points in nine of its 10 games so far this year.
- The game was tied just five teams and had two lead changes.
A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS
NEXT UP
Radford returns to the friendly confines of the Dedmon Center for a highly anticipated showdown against Bucknell on Sunday, December 8. Tip is set for 2 PM ET and the contest will feature a Highlanders Holiday celebration! The first 100 fans will receive a free and limited-edition Radford Athletics ornament, the annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit Carilion Clinic Children's Hospital will take place at halftime and there will also be a pre-game photo opportunity with Santa Paws, courtesy of Tartan Tails. Fans and supporters can
purchase their tickets to the big clash here.
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