RADFORD, Va.  – Radford closed out their regular season against UNC Asheville in a tight contest Saturday afternoon resulting in a 71-62 loss.
 
UPDATED RECORDS
Radford: 15-16 (5-11 Big South)
UNC Asheville: 20-11 (12-4 Big South)
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Highlanders fought through adversity with multiple players being injured resulting in little rest for the remaining healthy players. That did not slow down the starting five when D'Auntray Pierce swatted the ball for Radford to win the jump ball.
 
Justin Archer put up the first points of the game inside the paint. Reigning Big South Player of the Year, Drew Pember, sunk his first three of the game giving the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. DaQuan Smith retaliated for a pull-up jumper that was good, putting Radford up by one. From there the Bulldogs tried to take the lead but Kenyon Giles was not about to let that happen, pulling up in the paint.
 
Chandler Turner put himself into the mix giving Radford a 7-3 run, with all of Radford's points coming from Turner. The next two minutes were pretty quiet on both sides with each team only scoring once until Trenton Walter put Radford back on top with a three. Following his lead, Giles pulled back for three and then thanks to an Archer steal Turner threw the ball to Pierce for a dunk. That gave the team a 7 point lead, their largest lead of the day and forcing UNC Asheville to call a timeout.
 
Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs got to work and went on a 10-2 run. Baskets from Pierce and Turner gave Radford the lead back, however, this is the last lead Radford would have of the day. The first half ended with the Bulldogs on a 15-0 run, with seven points from Pember.
 
Despite Radford outscoring them, the Highlanders were unable to catch the Bulldogs in the second half. The Highlanders spent the first five minutes on a 14-7 run, shortening the gap to six. However, UNC Asheville reacted and went on a run of their own. Josiah Harris became the star of the latter half on a mission. He came off the bench hot earning the next 11 points for the Highlanders.
 
From there, the Bulldogs took advantage of shots from the charity stripe to put them up by nine, with those being the last shots of the game.
 
KEY STATS

• Josiah Harris earned a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. This is his first of the season.
• Radford shot 80% from the free-throw line.
• The team earned 11 of their points off turnovers.

 
OF NOTE

• D'Auntray Pierce made an appearance in every 2023-24 season game, the only Highlander to do such.

 
UP NEXT
Conference tournament play begins Wednesday, March 6th. Keep an eye out for Radford's seeding with game times being announced later tonight.
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Winthrop 64, Gardner-Webb 64
Presbyterian 72, Charleston Southern 65
 Longwood 74, High Point 72
 
FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordHoops on Twitter, 'radfordhoops' on Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.