Radford wins 10th Big South game with overtime victory vs. High Point

RADFORD, Va. – (via Radford Athletics) - Battle tested time and time again in close conference games this season, the Radford men's basketball team made winning plays when it mattered most to come away with a 69-66 victory over High Point at the Dedmon Center on Saturday afternoon.

With the Highlanders leading 59-56 and 25 seconds remaining on the clock in regulation, the Panthers got a huge 3-pointer from Jahaad Proctor to tie things up, but Carlik Jones had another chance at a buzzer-beater. The redshirt sophomore guard launched a jumper from the wing, but this time it wasn't meant to be and Radford entered overtime for the second straight game.

Radford went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the extra period and Jones forced a turnover on High Point's final possession to seal another nail-biting win. The Highlanders improve to 18-7 overall and 10-1 in the Big South, keeping them atop the conference standings. High Point drops to 13-11 and 6-4.

Jones stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, but it was junior guard Donald Hicks that had the best performance. On a day when points were extremely hard to come by, he poured in a season-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting including four 3-pointers and four free throws.

Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. was flying around and leaping over everybody for the majority of the contest, pulling down a career high-tying 19 rebounds. Graduate center Mawdo Sallah was big too with three crucial blocks on the defensive end.

Saturday's contest was the exact opposite of the game at Hampton on Thursday in nearly every way. After scoring 101 points and making shots seemingly at will, the Highlanders went 7-of-34 (20.6%) from the floor in the first half. Luckily their shooting improved immensely in the second half and they went 12-of-28 (42.9%).

A 15-0 advantage in points off turnovers, a 19-9 advantage in bench points and a season-low four turnovers were all vital keys to success in the end.

Proctor led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting while Brandonn Kamga (14) and Jordan Whitehead (10) joined him in double figures.

REBOUNDING RECORD IN SIGHT
With his Herculean rebounding effort on Saturday, Polite Jr. climbed even closer to becoming the all-time career rebounding leader in Radford history. The Lanham, Md. native now has 1,052 as a Highlander, just 12 short of the 1,064 Javonte Green (2011-15) recorded.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Radford held High Point to just 15 points with a mere 16 shot attempts in the first half. That's the least amount of points an opponent has scored in a half this season, beating the 20 points Mars Hill was held to in the second half of their contest on January 1.

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Charleston Southern 85, UNC Asheville 75
Winthrop 101, Hampton 91
Campbell 82, USC Upstate 66
Presbyterian 103, Gardner-Webb 101

UP NEXT
The Highlanders hit the road once again, this time for a rematch with the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Saturday, Feb. 16 following a full week off. The game is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the CSU Buc Dome and will be broadcast live on ESPN3 meaning no ESPN+ subscription will be required.

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