The Radford University men’s basketball team survived yet another close conference game to extend its winning streak to four with a 79-77 victory over Presbyterian College at the Dedmon Center on Saturday.
Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. had a monster game, scoring a season-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting including a season-high four three-pointers. He also added nine rebounds and three steals. Redshirt sophomore Carlik Jones was his main provider, finishing with 11 assists to go with 15 points for his third career double-double.
With the win, Radford improves to 11-6 on the year and 3-0 in Big South action for the second straight season. Presbyterian falls to 9-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The Highlanders put together a strong offensive first half, shooting 56.0% (14-for-25) from the field, 50.0% (8-for-16) from downtown and 77.8% (7-for-9) from the free throw line to take a 43-33 lead into the break.
It helped that the Blue Hose came out cold, but that quickly changed when they three-point attempts began to fall. After beginning the game just 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, Presbyterian connected on four straight three-pointers to transform an 18-17 deficit into a 26-20 lead.
Going behind in front of their home crowd must have fired up the Highlanders because they went on an absolute tear for the rest of the period. Over the final 7:43, Radford went 7-for-8 including a 5-for-6 streak on threes to put together a 23-7 run.
It was a completely different story in the second half as things became tight in a hurry. After getting whistled for just four fouls in the first 20 minutes, Radford got called for 12 in the second half and the free throws began to pile up for the Blue Hose.
Radford’s 58-48 lead with 12:49 to go was completely erased thanks to an 11-0 run by Presbyterian that made it 59-58 with 8:33 left on the clock. The Highlanders responded, taking a six-point lead with six minutes to go, but that too was erased and PC tied the game at 69-all with 3:33 left in regulation.
After a Coach Jones timeout, Carlik Jones hit a pair of free throws and senior guard Caleb Tanner drained a clutch three to put Radford back up by four. Then with less than a minute to go, junior guard Donald Hicks dribbled through traffic and rose up for a huge mid-range jumper that gave Radford the insurance it needed. A buzzer-beating three wasn’t enough for the Blue Hose and Radford escaped with a win.
The Blue Hose had a whopping five players finish in double figures, led by Francois Lewis who had 16 points. Fellow big man Cory Hightower had 15 points of his own as both players went 6-for-8 in the game. PC out-rebounded the Highlanders 31-25 and earned a 34-14 advantage in points in the paint.
The Highlanders had a great day shooting the ball from downtown, going 14-for-29 from three-point range. It was the fifth time this season that Radford has made double-digit threes and the most it has made since sinking 18 in the season-opener against Davis & Elkins.
Radford has now won 10 straight games in the Dedmon Center with a perfect 7-0 record still intact for home games played during the 2018-19 season. The Highlanders improve to 63-22 in front of their home fans since the 2012-13 season.
Radford returns to the national stage when it hosts Gardner-Webb on ESPNU this Thursday, Jan. 17 at 9 pm. Tickets can be purchased on RadfordTickets.com or by calling the Radford Ticket Office at 831-7889 during business hours.
–RU Athletics