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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
DelJOnes
Rob Simmons
89
Winner Radford Rad 10-9,3-1 Big South
80
Gardner-Webb GW 2-17,0-4 Big South
Winner
Radford Rad
10-9,3-1 Big South
89
Final
80
Gardner-Webb GW
2-17,0-4 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford Rad 45 44 89
Gardner-Webb GW 31 49 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Holds Strong, Earns Decisive Road Victory at Gardner-Webb

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Radford men's basketball program overcame a slow start and held on late to earn their second straight victory on the road in Big South play 89-80 over Gardner-Webb.
 
KEY STATS
  • Del Jones led the scoring efforts tying his career-high in points with 27 on the night, his third time scoring 27 points this season.
  • Four other Highlanders scored in double figures with two earning double-doubles including Dennis Parker Jr. (17 pts, 11 rbs), Jaylon Johnson (16 pts), Tyson Brown (12 pts, 12 rbs) and Brennan Rigsby Jr. (11 pts).
  • After hitting eight of their first 10 shots of the game, Gardner-Webb would close the first half by hitting just one of their next 16 takes allowing Radford to go on an extended 37-11 run.
  • The second-chance margin was huge for Radford who outrebounded Gardner-Webb 18-6 on the offensive end.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
A slow start saw the hosts Gardner-Webb jump ahead 14-3 in Wednesday's contest, with a Del Jones triple accounting for all of Radford's offense. Seven minutes in the Runnin' Bulldogs grew their lead to as far as 20-8, but the Highlanders would flip the script from there.
 
Rigsby Jr. would lead that charge as he hit from three to kick off Radford's extended run. A quick steal and dunk by Parker Jr. followed by another dunk from Rigsby Jr. pulled Radford right back within five. An and-one by Rigsby Jr. pulled Radford closer and two free throws from Jones tied the game at 22-22.
 
Jones hit a layup and three for seven straight points giving Radford its first lead at 27-25. Brown, Parker Jr. and Erichsen would push Radford's lead further to eight as Gardner-Webb was held to just one field goal over the final 13 minutes of the half. Rigsby Jr. would hit one more three before the half ended followed by a make at the buzzer from Jones to give Radford a huge 45-31 lead at the break.
 
That extended run would prove pivotal as the game went on. Gardner-Webb wouldn't back down easily and hung around closely for the final 20 minutes of play. Out of the break, Brown got Radford's scoring restarted while Lukas Walls joined in with a triple.
 
Layups by Brown and Parker Jr. kept Radford's offense pacing ahead to a 58-42 lead with 15:31 left in the game. The Highlanders offense would go cold, however, allowing Gardner-Webb to go on an 8-2 run to pull the game back within a manageable range. A big three by Johnson looked to reignite the offense, but the Highlanders lead would hold at 10 68-58 at the 9:52 mark.
 
Needing shots, Radford turned to Jones who turned in five straight points of his own with a big three pointer to fight back against the Runnin' Bulldogs comeback attempt. With 5:36 to play, Gardner-Webb pulled in as close as 73-68. Parker Jr. had the resounding answer of the night as he converted a four-point play thanks to an and-one three-pointer he hit right in front of the team bench.
 
From there, Radford would play clean and hit their free throws to keep pacing ahead. Despite many makes down the stretch from Gardner-Webb, Radford had answers all along the way thanks to Parker Jr., Brown, Johnson and Jones to hold on for the 89-80 win.
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • Winthrop knocked off the lone unbeaten in conference play so far in High Point with a dominant end-to-end victory at home 92-75.
  • Presbyterian held back a late charge from UNC Asheville to earn their second Big South win 71-70.
  • USC Upstate earned their first conference win in a big way, going on the road to down Charleston Southern 86-81.
 
UP NEXT
Radford returns home for a pivotal Big South meeting with in-state rival Longwood this Saturday, January 17th. Action is set to tip at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+, and the game will also feature the annual Invest529 Diaper Derby at halftime.

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).
 
#RiseAndDefend
 
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