Leading by two in the final moments, the Radford University men’s basketball team fell victim to a Chris Clemons buzzer-beating heave that resulted in an absolutely heartbreaking 68-67 defeat to Campbell at the Dedmon Center on Wednesday night.
The Highlanders led 67-60 with only 42 seconds remaining in regulation, but a series of missed free throws allowed the Camels to climb back into the game. One of those missed free throws landed in the hands of Isaac Chatman with 6.4 seconds left before he handed the ball off to Clemons.
The nation’s leading scorer charged up the court and launched a three-point attempt from 35 feet away that went straight in. He finished with 39 points on 11-of-22 shooting while no other Campbell player scored more than nine points on the night.
The loss snaps several streaks for the Highlanders including a 14-game winning streak against Big South opponents and a 12-game winning streak at home. Their record still stands at 15-7 overall and 7-1 in the conference, keeping them atop the standings. Campbell improves to 12-9 overall and 5-2 in the Big South.
Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. scored 13 points and pulled down 11 boards for his 10th double-double of the season. His first rebound of the night gave him 1,000 for his career, making him the second player in Radford history and fourth player in Big South history to accomplish that feat.
Redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones was also great on the night, playing his way into triple-double territory with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Graduate center Mawdo Sallah provided his second straight great effort, going for 12 points and six rebounds.
Radford outscored the Camels 32-12 in the paint and had a 21-2 advantage in bench scoring. Junior center Devonnte Holland was a big part of that thanks to his 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Senior guard Caleb Tanner made history of his own on Wednesday night. With his first 3-pointer of the night, the Floyd native became the eighth player in Radford history to make 200 or more in his career.
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Gardner-Webb 69, High Point 67
Hampton 96, Longwood 83
UNC Asheville 71, USC Upstate 62
Charleston Southern 85, Presbyterian 84
Radford has a pair of road games before returning to the Dedmon Center on Saturday, Feb. 9 to host High Point and its new head coach, Tubby Smith. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
–RU Athletics
