RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball program stumbled against Presbyterian by an 80-73 margin inside the Dedmon Center on Saturday evening.
 
Even with the setback, the Highlanders remain strong at fourth in the Big South standings with a 7-7 mark in league play. With only two regular season games left on the docket, Radford is a game up on the next closest team and two games back of the third-place squad.
 
Radford started off the contest strong and took a 43-38 lead after a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes of play.
 
The Highlanders held a 45-40 edge with 18:40 left in the contest, but the Blue Hose went on a 32-16 run over the next 15-plus minutes of the game to take a 72-61 advantage. Radford would continue to battle and kept it at a single-digit effort, but the Highlanders wouldn't get closer than five over the final three-plus minutes as Presbyterian closed out the victory.
 
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Radford – 73, Presbyterian – 80
LOCATION: Dedmon Center (Radford, Virginia)
RECORDS:  RU 17-12 (7-7 Big South), PC 12-17 (5-9 Big South)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- David Early went off with a season-best performance that included a team-best 22 points to go with two boards. He also tied for the game-lead as he dished out six assists. It was his most points scored in a contest since December 12, 2023, during his time with Tennessee Tech and his highest total as a Highlander. The 22 points were the third-most scored throughout his entire collegiate career overall. Early went a blistering 8-of-11 from the field (.727) and 3-for-4 from three (.750) in his best game of the season.
- Brandon Maclin was next with 19 points along with three rebounds, three helpers and a steal. It was his 13th game of the season with double figures in points. Maclin has also posted double-digit point outings in six of his past seven games.
- Josiah Harris (eight points, four rebounds, one assist), Truth Harris (seven points, two boards, two helpers), Jarvis Moss (six points, three rebounds, one assist), TJ NeSmith (six points, team-best five boards) and Ibu Yamazaki (five points) rounded out the scoring attack for the Highlanders.
- Eleven different Radford student-athletes checked into the contest overall.
- To go with Early's strong effort, another positive was the Highlanders 33 points off the bench.
- The game was tied five different times and finished with four lead changes.
 
NEXT UP
Radford hits the road for its last away conference clash of the regular season with a showdown against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, February 26. Tip is set for 7 PM ET inside Paul Porter Arena. Fans and supporters can watch the contest anywhere in the country on ESPN+ and the game can also be heard across the nation on WRAD.

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