Dedmon Double Header for Radford Basketball
By: Ian Greco
Before the impending snow storm, Radford hosted a double-header basketball matchup with UNC Asheville against our women’s squad and High Point against the men’s team.
The first game of the night started with Radford’s women’s matchup against UNC Asheville. The first half was a low scoring affair at 25-21 in favor of the Highlanders, with both teams missing shots due to the tough defensive efforts on either side. Proof of this effort was evident in the 14 turnovers the Highlanders were able to force within the first 20 minutes. Out of the halftime intermission, this matchup started to turn into a Radford masterclass thanks to a quick 6-2 run led by Ellie Taylor (7 points) and an 8 straight point run from Cate Carlson (12 points) to have us up 14 going into the third quarter. Out of the third UNC Asheville seemed to finally wake up and take the Highlanders by surprise, closing the lead to as little as a 3 point difference. Thankfully Radford responded and closed out the game with a win 64-52 thanks to a nice run late in the fourth quarter by Joi Williams who ended the game with 21 points.
After the women’s victory came the matchup between our Radford men’s squad and the top ranked team in the Big South, High Point University. Both teams started the game hot, with Radford giving the first blow with a 7-0 run to start before a run of High Point’s own to bring the game to 9-8. The early marquee performer was Dennis Parker Jr. (19 points), who ended the half with 13 points. Both teams shot efficiently, with RU shooting 60% in a 48-42 first half lead that showed promise going into the second. Unfortunately High Point didn’t get the memo, scoring 6 straight and tying the game to start the 2nd half. This 6-0 run then spiraled into a 16-3 run in favor of High Point thanks to their ability to get to the free throw line and convert. With the game staying at a 7 point deadlock going into the final 5 minutes, victory seemed pretty certain for High Point. That is until they finally had struggles making free throws, opening the door for a Highlander comeback behind the offensive firepower of Del Jones (23 points) and Jaylon Johnson (19 points). The game came to an 86-81 scoreline with Radford taking advantage of High Point’s newfound free throw woes, but to the home crowd’s dismay High Point regained their form at the charity stripe and closed out the game 92-83 for a second straight Highlander loss. The free throws, turnovers, and efficiency from the three-point line proved too much in this game that was just out of reach.
The Highlanders men’s team is currently third in the Big South with a record of 6-3 while the Women’s squad boasts a record of 7-2 in conference play, good for the second seed behind High Point. In their next matchups, our women’s team goes on the road to face Longwood while our men’s squad hosts Winthrop on Wednesday.
