Blue Hose Drop Conference Opener

Radford broke open a tight three-point game with a 20-3 run in the second half to defeat the Presbyterian College men's basketball team 78-62, in the Big South opener for both teams Saturday evening at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C. Francois Lewis tied his career-high with 23 points.

Scoring the Match

Radford used four three-pointers in the opening 11 minutes to jump out to the 19-11 lead, 9:04 to go in the first half. PC fought back, cutting the margin to two off a Davon Bell three-pointer at 7:19. It was the second of five threes for PC that saw the home team made it a one-point game, 29-28, 3:53 on the clock. With Radford leading again at 31-30, the Highlanders went on a 7-0 run, four of those points coming from Ed Polite, Jr., to take another eight-point lead. Both teams traded baskets the final minute of play with Radford heading to the locker room with the 40-32 lead.

PC outscored the Highlanders 17-12 in the opening five and a half minutes of the second half, which included a 7-0 run at the end, to cut the Radford lead to three, 52-49, 14:36 to go. The Highlanders responded with a 20-3 run, including a 15-0 stretch over a five-and-half minute span, to take their largest of the game to that point at 20, 72-52, 5:22 left. With Radford leading, PC's Bell hit a jumper at 2:05, ending a 12-minute field goal drought. PC would cut the lead to 16 off a 5-0 run but that would it as the Highlanders came away with the 78-62 win.

Player of the Match

Francois Lewis led the Blue Hose effort with a career-high tying 23 points, including a personal best five three-pointers. Davon Bell followed with 12 points and nine assists, with Romeo Crouch pacing the team in rebounds with a career-high seven. Ed Polite, Jr., led Radford with 24 points and 15 rebounds for the double-double.

Stat of the Match

Radford shot 51.7% for the game, while holding PC to 39.7. The Highlanders shot 55.6% in the second half, with PC hitting just 32.3%. Radford held the rebound advantage, 44-27, with PC committing just five turnovers, to Radford's 12. Radford hit eight three-pointers, while PC finished with eight.

Notables

- Davon Bell's career-high tying nine assists tied for eighth in the PC record book
- Romeo Crouch a career-high and team-leading seven rebounds
- Francois Lewis tied his career-high with 23 points, going a personal best nine of 14 from the field
- Francois Lewis' five-of-ten from the perimeter was a career-best.

For the Record

PC falls to 7-7 overall and 0-1 in the Big South, while Radford improves to 8-6, 1-0.