Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. became the fifth player in program history to record 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in his career, but the Radford men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome hot-shooting Virginia Tech in a 95-68 loss at Cassell Coliseum Wednesday night.
With just over a minute and a half ticked off the clock in the second half, Polite Jr. swatted away a potential layup in the lane for his second block of the night and the 100th of his collegiate career. He also becomes the 26th player in Big South history to reach the plateau.
The Hokies (8-1) earned the win after going 31-for-50 (62%) from the floor including a 8-for-15 (53.3%) clip from 3-point range while Radford moves to 4-4.
The Highlanders got off to a quick start, taking a 4-0 lead on back-to-back makes from Polite Jr. and senior center Randy Phillips. The Hokies hit right back with a 12-2 run, however, and maintained the lead for the rest of the contest.
Radford hung tough and used another small run to cut the deficit to as few as four at the 9:32 mark of the first half, but Tech extended their lead all the way to double-digits with a 9-0 streak.
Keeping with the trend, a three-point play by senior guard Christian Bradford followed by two good free throws by redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones got Radford back within striking distance before Tech connected from distance twice to end the half.
The Hokies controlled the game in the second half despite Radford’s efforts to mount a comeback. Struggles from beyond the arc, where the Highlanders made only three of 20 attempts, really hindered any progress.
Hitting two of those threes himself was junior guard Caleb Tanner. With four straight free throws late, he joined Polite Jr. in double-digits with 10 points.
One area Radford did find success was at the charity stripe. The Highlanders drew 17 fouls and went 17-for-20 to supplement their scoring.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. led the Hokies with 20 points, including 11-of-11 shots at the free throw line, six rebounds and two blocks. Justin Bibbs added 20 of his own on 8-of-11 shooting.
Coach Jones made full use of his bench, bringing in nine players throughout the game. Redshirt sophomore guard Devin Cooper and junior forward Tristan Owens came off the bench to play in their third and fourth games of the season respectively.
Freshman guard Anias Saunders also saw some action in his third appearance of the year.
Polite Jr. finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks while dishing out a season-high five assists. Sophomore forward Devonnte Holland came close to scoring in double-digits for a third straight game, but fouled out with nine points of 4-of-5 shooting
Virginia Tech won the rebounding battle, 28-24, and 95 points is the most the Highlanders have given up this season, topping the 82 scored by Ohio State.
Radford scored exactly half of its 68 points in the paint (34). The Highlanders’ bench once again outscored the opposing bench, this time by 36-26 margin.
“We just weren’t as disciplined defensively, especially in transition, as we needed to be against a good Virginia Tech team. It’s one thing to practice it, but it’s something entirely different to see their offense in person and try to slow it down. We had some spots where we played the way we wanted to and we got some good looks on the offensive end,” said Head Coach Mike Jones.
Radford comes back to the Dedmon Center for its third home contest of the season when it hosts Erskine College this Saturday. The game against the Flying Fleet is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Highlanders are 2-0 in front of their hometown fans so far this season.
–RU Athletics