RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball program bounced back in a big way as the Highlanders picked up a 20-point victory over Big South rival Winthrop by an 87-67 margin in a conference clash inside the Dedmon Center on Saturday evening.
To go with returning Radford to its winning ways, the win was a special one for the program. It was the 800th victory overall for the Highlanders in program history.
If you thought that was the only thing to make its way into the record book from the contest, you would be mistaken as freshman
Zion Walker dropped a game, season and career-best 30 points in the win. He became just the second freshman to go for 30-plus points in school history and the first since the 1994-95 campaign.
The Highlanders led this one from wire-to-wire with the first basket of the contest. Radford opened the game on a 22-12 run overall with 9:51 left to play in the first. RU would finish the half on another 24-14 advantage to take a 20-point lead (the same margin of victory) into the half at 46-26.
After holding on to its 20-plus point lead with 15:24 remaining in the game, Winthrop tried to battle back. The Eagles got it as close as 13 at 71-58 with 5:12 to go. Radford responded right back with a 16-11 run to close out the contest and the 20-point win.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 87, Winthrop – 67
LOCATION: Dedmon Center (Radford, Virginia)
RECORDS: RU 11-6 (1-1 Big South), Winthrop 11-6 (1-1 Big South)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Walker looked like anything but a freshman in this one. To go with his scoring outburst, he added four rebounds and four assists. The Burlington, North Carolina native, who was making his first career start, was extremely efficient, going 9-of-14 from the floor (.643), 2-of-4 from three (.500) and 10-of-12 at the charity stripe (.833). To go with joining the Radford record books, Walker also became just the fifth Big South student-athlete to drop 30-plus points in a contest so far this season.
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Brandon Maclin was next in the scoring column with 13 points for his sixth double-digit game of the year. He chipped in five boards, two steals, one block and a dime.
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Josiah Harris just missed out on yet another double-double with a 10-point, nine-rebound effort. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line. He also added a helper and a rejection. It was his fifth contest so far this season with 10-plus points and seven-plus boards. Harris is now sixth in the Big South with an average of 7.1 rebounds per game.
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Truth Harris added nine points, three boards, one assist and one swipe.
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Jarvis Moss also finished with nine points to go with a single rebound.
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TJ NeSmith posted six points of his own along with five rebounds and two assists.
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Ibu Yamazaki recorded four points, four boards, one helper and a steal.
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Isaiah Gaines put up a game-best three blocks. He also added six rebounds. He tied his season-best with the three rejections.
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Tony Felder wrapped up the scoring attack with three points and a board.
- Head coach
Darris Nichols switched things up with a new starting five in the win. Even with the change the Highlanders still posted 32 points off the bench.
- Radford also put in 34 points in the paint and scored 14 points off turnovers.
- The win kept the Highlanders right in the thick of the conference race just a week into Big South play. One team leads the pack while the last place team is 0-1. The remaining seven squads are all tied for second at 1-1.
- The victory also improved Radford to a perfect 6-0 in the Dedmon Center this year.
- The game was tied zero times (except for at 0-0) and featured no lead changes in a dominant win.
ROLL THE HIGHLIGHTS
POST GAME PRESSER
WALKER LEAVES HIS MARK IN THE HISTORY BOOK
NEXT UP
It is back to life on the road for the Highlanders as Radford heads to Spartanburg to take on USC Upstate on Saturday, January 11. Tip is set for 2 PM ET inside the G.B. Hodge Center. To go with being
played in front of a national audience on ESPN+, the conference showdown
can also be heard anywhere in the country on WRAD.
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