Radford survives battle with Presbyterian, advances to Big South semifinals

 

Radford's David Early sank a number of late, key free throws in the Highlanders' Friday quarterfinal victory.  (Photo:  Radford Athletics)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The drama of Friday afternoon’s quarterfinal surprised no one. The way it got there, though? That may be a different story.

Four Radford scorers finished in double figures and the fourth-seeded Highlanders held off fifth-seeded Presbyterian, 74-69, in extra time. That only happened after a once-comfortable interval advantage vanished.

Radford coach Darris Nichols may have best summed up the contest.

“We’re excited to get out of this game alive,” Nichols said.

Radford (20-12) started the game strong. The Highlanders got 15 first-half points from Jarvis Moss and neutralized the fifth-seeded Blue Hose for much of the period. A 7-0 first-half run helped create separation, followed by a nearly 50 percent shooting effort from Radford in the opening stanza. An additional storyline in the period  that would follow the sides:  Radford went 5-for-5 from the line in the first half, while the Blue Hose were 0-for-6.

“(Free throw shooting) has come in handy all year,” Nichols said. “I think we're 21st in the country in getting to the foul line. You think about the guards we have that can get down there and put pressure on the rim. And then you've got two bigs in there ducking in. You’re going to draw a lot of fouls. That’s kind of what we've hung our hat on the whole year.”

The second half told a bit different story. Presbyterian (14-18) immediately countered out of the break, gradually erasing a 37-23 lead. The Blue Hose scored 25 of the first 35 points of the period, seizing a 48-47 advantage at the 11:29 mark of the period. This set the tone for a tense battle throughout the afternoon.

Presbyterian turned away a late effort as regulation neared its end, then fed ahead to Kobe Stewart for a bucket that tied the contest at 65. Radford had one final look as regulation ended, but the shot refused to fall and five extra minutes were required.

“I’m really proud of my guys,” Presbyterian coach Quinton Ferrell said after the game. “We didn't get the start that we would have wanted in the first half, but in the second half, we looked like the team we've been down the stretch and I just can't say enough about the character of my guys and the way they fought in the second half.”

“We thought that if we got stops, we could hurt them in transition. I thought that was a huge key to the second half. I thought that, in the second half, we were even more aggressive defensively with our ball screen coverage. That kind of propelled our offense, too.”

Stewart knocked down another jumper to start the extra session, only for David Early to nearly immediately counter with a layup to again knot the proceedings at 67. Presbyterian seized back the lead on a Kory Mincy jumper with 1:21 remaining but would not score again. Radford closed the game on a 6-0 burst, including four key makes from Early at the line to ice the game.

“D-Earl’s a handful,” Nichols said. “We see it in practice and, with him, the ability to get to the foul line when we're already in the bonus and then you can give a guy like him the ball and then he can draw fouls -- it's great to have. I think with him, he's starting to understand -- the second go-around in conference play, I think his assist-to-turnover ratio was like 22 to 8. He's making better decisions. That’s why he’s playing well.”

Moss led the Highlanders with 16 on the afternoon, hitting three triples and adding five free throws in six tries. Forward TJ NeSmith booked 15, hitting 5-of-6 from the deck and converting all five of his free throw attempts. Early contributed 14, buoyed by eight free throws. Truth Harris added 11 for the Highlanders. Radford shot 41.1 percent (23-for-56) on the day, adding another 23 makes from the line in 26 tries (88.5 percent).

Presbyterian got 22 from Stewart, who led all scorers. The senior hit 8-of-20 from the field, with four of his eight three-point tries finding the net. Forward Kaleb Scott tallied 14, finishing one board shy of a double-double. Mincy logged 11 on a 4-of-10 shooting effort. The Blue Hose shot 43.3 percent (29-for-67) and 42.1 percent from distance (8-of-19) but managed just three made free throws in 12 tries.

Radford now turns its attention to top-seeded High Point in Saturday’s semifinal. The Panthers swept the Highlanders during the regular season and Nichols knows the Highs will need to be at their best to book a trip to Sunday’s final.

“They're good,” Nichols said. “When you look at the last two meetings, at their place, we didn't play the right way. These guys know that. We didn't pass the ball. We weren’t playing as a connected team.”

“At our place, we played them better. If I remember, we had some bad turnovers down the stretch. The biggest thing with them is they can get out on the run and go on a 10-0 run quickly. You've got to play smarter. You've got to be more disciplined because they can really score the ball.”

Saturday’s semifinal contest is set for a noon (Eastern) tip inside Freedom Hall. Streaming coverage will be provided over ESPN+.

#4 RADFORD 74, #5 PRESBYTERIAN 69 (OT)

PRESBYTERIAN (14-18)

Scott 7-11 0-8 14, King 3-6 0-0 7, Stewart 8-20 2-2 22, Mincy 5-15 1-2 13, Harvey 3-7 0-0 7, Peterson 3-5 0-0 6, Pettaway 0-1 0-0 0, Parrish 0-2 0-0 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 3-12 69.

RADFORD (20-12)

J. Harris 1-4 0-0 2, Gaines 2-4 2-2 6, T. Harris 4-10 2-2 11, Moss 4-10 5-6 16, Early 3-13 8-9 14, Davis 1-1 0-0 2, NeSmith 5-6 5-5 15, Yamazaki 1-4 1-2 4, Sirtautas 2-2 0-0 4, Maclin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 23-26 74.

Halftime:  Radford 37-23. 3-Point goals:  Presbyterian 8-19 (King 1-1, Stewart 4-8, Mincy 2-5, Harvey 1-3, Parrish 0-2), Radford 5-19 (T. Harris 1-3, Moss 3-8, Yamazaki 1-2, Maclin 0-1)). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds: Radford 42 (Gaines 10), Presbyterian 35 (Scott 9). Total fouls:  Presbyterian 21, Radford 12. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Presbyterian 11, Radford 5.  Points in the paint:  Presbyterian 36, Radford 32. Second-chance points:  Radford 11, Presbyterian 8.  Fast-break points:  Presbyterian 20, Radford 5.  Bench points:  Radford 25, Presbyterian 6.