The Blue Hose shot a season-high 56.7% from the field and fought to within single-digits on several occasions in the second half, but could not overcome seven second-half Highlander three-pointers, as the Presbyterian College men's basketball fell to Radford, 92-85, in Big South action this afternoon in Radford, Va.
PC drops to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in the Big South, while the Highlanders improve to 10-7, 1-3. The Blue Hose stay on the road for their next game, heading back to Virginia to take on Longwood Wednesday, Jan. 14. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Radford heads to Campbell Jan. 15, for a 7 p.m. contest.
Jordan Downing tied his season-high with 28 points to lead the Blue Hose. DeSean Murray added 18, with Davon Bell recording a career-high 10 points, five assists and six rebounds on the afternoon. Murray paced the team on the boards as well with seven.
Javonte Green led Radford with 24 points and nine rebounds, followed by R.J. Price and YaYa Anderson with 17 points apiece.
PC shot a season-high 56.7% from the field, compared to 56.1% for Radford. The Blue Hose were 10-of-16 from the charity stripe and pulled down 31 rebounds. The Highlanders hit 11 three-pointers, seven coming in the second half, and were 20-of-33 from the free throw line. Turnovers were fairly close with PC holding the 12-9 edge.
Turnovers hurt PC early, with the visitors coughing it up the first two possessions resulting in a 4-0 lead by Radford with just over a minute into the game. The Highlanders extended the lead to 11-4 with 17:02 before the Blue Hose used a layup and three-pointer by Downing to ignite a Blue Hose 11-3 that saw them take their first lead of the game, 15-14, 13:57 to go before intermission.
Back to back three-pointers by the Highlanders quickly erased the one-point lead for PC as Radford made it a five-point game, 20-15, 12:29 to go.
PC cut the Radford lead to three 22-19, off a Murray lay-up with 10:40 on the clock, but it was a 10-4 run by the Highlanders one of their largest leads of the half, 32-23, 6:34 left in the first half.
Both teams traded baskets the next couple of minutes until a Ruben Arroyo-Felix three-pointer at 4:13 made it a six-point game, 38-32. It was short-lived as four unanswered points by Radford gave the Highlanders a 10-point, 42-32 lead with just over three on the clock.
Downing hit his second three-pointer of the half, with Murray following it up a free throw and lay-up to cut the lead four, 42-38 with a minute and a half left. Price hit a three with just over a minute to go, however, to give Radford the 45-38 lead at the break.
Radford opened the second half with five straight to build an 11-point lead, 49-38, 18:44 left. Will Truss, who was scoreless in the first half, came alive with five unanswered points in a 7-0 run to cut the Highlander lead to just four, 49-45, 17:07 to go. Jalen Carethers stopped the drought at 16:13, as Radford took a six-point lead again.
After another Truss basket, Radford responded with a three to make it a seven point game again. Both teams traded baskets the next minute until Downing was fouled as he hit an off-balance floater. He hit the free throw to cut the margin to four again, 58-54, 13:10 to go.
Radford responded with a 15-8 run, which included four three-pointers – two from Price, to take its largest lead of the game, 73-60, 9:12 remaining in the game.
Trailing 73-63, at 8:18, Radford used a 9-3 run over the next two minutes to build a 16-point, 82-66 lead with just over 6:01 left. PC answered with a 7-1 run, four coming from Bell, to cut the lead to 10, 85-75, 3:43 left.
Radford went up by 14 off free throws, but turned the ball over on two straight possessions, with PC converting them to baskets to cut the lead back to 10, 89-79, 1:17 on the clock.
That would be as close as the Blue Hose would get, as Radford hit a lay-up at 1:17 and added four free throws the final minute to take the 95-82 win.
