Radford University honored its senior basketball players Saturday. Pictured are (left to right) Devine Eke, Donald Hicks, Coach Mike Jones, Travis Fields Jr., Devin Hutcheson and Devonnte Holland.
The Radford University men’s basketball team lost to Gardner-Webb, 70-62, inside the Dedmon Center Saturday as the Highlanders’ seniors were honored in the regular season finale.
Radford (20-10, 15-3 Big South) tried to overcome a 15-point deficit but didn’t have enough in the tank. The Highlanders kept chipping away and cut it to a one-possession game with 4:40 to play thanks to a Devonnte Holland layup.
Gardner-Webb’s Nate Johnson quieted the crowd with a 3-pointer just 40 seconds later. He hit another one about two minutes later that made it a 62-53 game with 2:11 left. Travis Fields, Jr., connected on a 3-ball just under two minutes, but GWU scored four in a row to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs up by double-digits.
The Highlanders extended the game by fouling and cut the deficit to six points with 18 seconds remaining. Christian Turner converted a pair of free throws pushing the lead to 70-62. Radford took a late 3-pointer with 11 seconds left but it was off the mark as GWU ended Radford’s 10-game win streak.
Fields Jr., led all players with 22 points, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor. His 22 points tied a season-high.. Devonnte Holland was one rebound away from his 500th at Radford and that one would have given him a double-double. He scored 12 points and shot 60 percent from the floor. Carlik Jones tallied 15 points and six assists.
Radford fell victim to an 11-4 run in the first three minutes of the second half which put the Highlanders in a hole at 44-30. RU cut the lead to seven points before the Runnin’ Bulldogs jumped to their largest lead of the game, 54-39.
“[Gardner-Webb] played extremely well,” RU head coach Mike Jones said after the game. “We didn’t play our best game. We played with tremendous heart. I was really proud of our effort, especially after getting down. We were able to dig back and give ourselves a chance to win, and I’m just proud of the guys for sticking with it until there were zeroes on the clock.”
–RU Athletics
