A close first half opened up into a dominant second half for the Radford men’s basketball team, who went into VMI and came out with a 63-50 victory over the Keydets at Cameron Hall Saturday afternoon.
The Highlanders fully utilized their height advantage to take over the paint, leading the Keydets in points there, 42-16. Those close-range shots helped the Highlanders shoot 46-percent (27-59) from the field including a 52-percent effort in the second half.
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. once again led the way with his third double-double of the season and second in as many games with 14 points and 12 rebounds across 35 minutes. He supplied the highlight of the game six minutes in, throwing down a monster slam over a VMI defender while drawing a foul to complete the three-point play.
Sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. and sophomore forward Devonnte Holland provided big games off the bench, providing nine and 10 points respectively. Holland added eight rebounds and a block as well.
With the victory, the Highlanders improve to 3-0 in games after a loss and 4-3 overall this season while VMI drops to 3-4.
After holding Vanderbilt without a basket for the first five minutes of last Tuesday’s matchup, the Highlanders kept the Keydets off the scoresheet until the 15:57 mark on Saturday.
Radford got off to a quick start, knocking down three of their first four shots to take a 7-2 lead early and lead eventually grew to eight at the 7:48 mark thanks to a Carlik Jones 3-pointer.
Polite Jr. kept Radford out in front with nine points and seven rebounds while senior guard Christian Bradford went a perfect 3-for-3 to chip in seven points through the first 20 minutes. The Keydets hung around thanks to 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line despite going the final 6:33 of the half without recording a field goal.
It was all Radford in the second half though. A 7-0 run grew to 9-0 and then eventually to 14-2 all within four minutes. The Highlanders’ intensity on the defensive side of the ball improved drastically after the break, leading to four steals and three blocks.
With 11 to go in the game, the Highlanders took a game-high lead of 15 points, but the Keydets hit right back and cut the deficit all the way down to six. Sophomore guard Donald Hicks, who was mired in foul trouble from the start, promptly reentered the game to knock down a three and halt any momentum VMI had gained.
The Highlanders would then put together another 9-0 run from 7:01 to 4:50 and effectively put the game out of reach.
Radford held VMI to 50 points, the best defensive effort of the season for the Highlanders. Their previous low in points allowed was 63 against Georgia Southwestern in the season opener.
Redshirt senior guard Justin Cousin recorded a season-high in rebounds (3) within in the first 3 minutes and 33 seconds of the game.
Bradford has now connected on at least one 3-pointer in six of the first seven games this season. Polite Jr. extended his streak of games with at least one block to seven. He has 13 total on the year.
Radford earned a 16-9 lead in second chance points, 22-14 lead in points off turnovers and an 8-0 lead in fast break points.
Bench scoring continues to be a story for the Highlanders. They outscored the Keydets, 28-17, in the category today to bring their season total to 247-108. Radford was held to only four free throws in the game compared to 11 for VMI.
“It was a great defensive performance for us today. We worked well as a team and when we pressured them full court it really gave us some big plays. It took a lot of hard work by our guys, but they did all the little things well with working around screens, keeping their hands in shooters’ faces and jumping passing routes. It made a huge difference today,” said Head Coach Mike Jones.
The Highlanders won’t have far to travel in their next game when they take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg. The contest is scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m. inside Cassell Coliseum.
–RU Athletics
