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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
ParkerJr
Ethan Neal
76
Winner Radford Rad 8-8,1-0 Big South
69
USC Upstate USCU 8-8,0-1 Big South
Winner
Radford Rad
8-8,1-0 Big South
76
Final
69
USC Upstate USCU
8-8,0-1 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford Rad 37 39 76
USC Upstate USCU 30 39 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Parker Jr. Stays Hot into Conference Play to Lead Radford to 1-0 Start

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford men's basketball program will enter Big South play and 2026 on the right foot thanks to a strong 76-69 victory at USC Upstate Wednesday afternoon.
 
KEY STATS
  • The conference's leading scorer was as advertised, leading the game's scoring with 24 points with 7 rebounds, a pair of steals and assists.
  • Jaylon Johnson had some big shots down the stretch for Radford, finishing with 14 points. Del Jones also finished in double figures scoring with 12 points, while Tyson Brown flirted with another double-double with 8 points and 11 boards.
  • Turnovers and the points that came off them played a pivotal role. Radford committed four turnovers in the final 2:30 of play allowing the Spartans to close the gap, but was winning the turnover battle 10 to 13 through the game's first 37 minutes and change.
  • The conference opening win is the first for Radford since the start of the 2021-22 season, also on the road against USC Upstate.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
Both teams would get off to chilly starts in the meeting before a flurry of points before the end of the first half gave Radford an early lead. Brown got Radford on the board first with both teams trading buckets for no lead bigger than Radford's seven-point edge at halftime.
 
Five straight points from Parker Jr. scored five straight points to tie the game at 9-9 with Frederik Erichsen sending down a strong dunk for an 11-9 edge. From the 10-minute mark to the six-minute mark of the first half, USC Upstate scored solely from the free throw line while Radford kept up thanks to made shots from Erichsen, Parker Jr, Jones and Johnson.
 
Up 25-21, Radford was able to continue to pace ahead thanks to Parker Jr. who kept firing for five more points to make it a 30-28 lead with one minute left in the half. In that final minute, it was all Radford as Jones hit a jumper, Johnson sunk two free throws and Mari Jordan hit a buzzer beating heave just in front of the half court line to give Radford its biggest lead of the day so far at 37-30.
 
The shots kept falling for Radford out of the break as makes from Jones and Brown followed by a 7-0 run with five points from Parker Jr. had Radford ahead 48-37 with 14:58 to play. The Highlanders would hit a drought from the floor from there, though, not hitting a shot away from the free throw line again until the nine-minute mark.
 
That ice breaker came from Johnson, which helped vault Radford back up 53-47 despite multiple shots at a tie from USC Upstate. A scoring drought then inflicted the Spartans, allowing the Highlanders to build their lead that would stand until the final whistle. Parker Jr. added four more points while Lukas Walls converted a big and-one to make it 60-49 Radford with 6:24 to play.
 
After Jones hit a pair of free throws to seemingly put Radford ahead for good 67-55, the final 2:30 of the game turned sloppy allowing USC Upstate to pull the score closer. The Spartans rattled off a 7-0 run to pull the game within six. A breakaway dunk from Brown put Radford back ahead eight as the late rally stifled from there. The Highlanders put the game away at the free throw line behind Walls, Parker Jr. and Johnson to finish the 76-69 victory.
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • High Point cruised to win their conference opener over UNC Asheville 87-69, thanks in part to a big 14-point halftime lead and blistering 62% shooting performance.
  • Charleston Southern overcame a big halftime deficit to upend Gardner-Webb on the road, outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs 55-33 in the second half
  • Longood broke the trend of road team victories Wednesday, defeating Winthrop at home with four players in double figures scoring and a 50% shooting performance.
 
UP NEXT
Radford has an early bye in the conference schedule and is off this weekend before returning to action for their home conference opener on Wednesday, January 7th for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN+ against Presbyterian.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
For all the latest on Radford Men's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordHoops), Instagram (@radfordhoops), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Men's Basketball).
 
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