Presbyterian rallies past Radford in overtime

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — It was a case of saving the best for last, as the Big South tournament closed Quarterfinal Friday with an epic battle between Presbyterian and Radford.

When the dust settled, the sixth-seeded Blue Hose exorcised its opening round demons, upsetting the Highlanders in overtime, 91-85.

“What a college basketball game,” head coach Quinton Ferrell said. “I’m so proud of my guys. They stepped up big-time.”

Lukas Walls opened the game with a pair of buckets for Radford, but both teams had trouble scoring as the Highlanders only led 4-2 at the first media stoppage. A Jaylon Johnson triple pushed the Radford advantage to 11-2.

After a Presbyterian timeout, Tyson Brown dug the hole deeper. Radford held a 16-4 advantage before the Blue Hose finally got things going on a Carl Parrish floater and a Chidi Chiakwelu putback. Jaylen Peterson continued the comeback with a three-point play, but Walls answered with a three to beat the shot clock. Del Jones converted a midrange jumper and NC State transfer Dennis Parker, Jr. scored on a putback for Radford. When Jones beat the halftime buzzer by banking in a three, the Highlanders led at halftime, 36-28.

Jones’ good play continued coming  out of the locker room. His three-point play helped Radford regain a double-digit lead, at 39-28. Presbyterian responded with a pair of dunks, forcing a Highlander timeout. The teams went on a stretch of trading baskets until Jonah Pierce converted a layup to cut the deficit to 43-38 with 15:58 left in the game.

A Pierce putback cut into the deficit further, but Johnson restored order with five quick points for the Highlanders. By the time he hit another three, Radford led, 54-44. The Blue Hose continued to push, but a three-point play from Walls kept Radford in front, 60-53, with 6:27 left.

Triston Wilson answered back, with Pierce adding a three-point play after a goaltending call. His fadeaway jumper with 3:38 left tied the game at 63. Johnson sank a trio of big free throws for Radford out of the break. Wilson tied things at 67 with a dunk, but Pierce picked up his fifth foul on the defensive end. Parker put Radford back in front with a putback and Walls connected on a big three from the corner. Presbyterian chipped away until Parrish hit a heave at the buzzer to tie the game at 77, sending it to overtime.

Chiakwelu gave the Blue Hose its first lead of the game, 81-79, with 3:09 left in the extra session. Iverson King converted a pullup later in the contest for his first bucket to give the Blue Hose an 85-81 lead. Walls answered with a three-point play.  Parker picked up an intentional foul, which gave Presbyterian the margin it needed to win.

STARTING SLOW, FINISHING FAST: Presbyterian started an abysmal 1-for-14 from the floor but shot an impressive 64.5 percent in the second half, and an even better 80 percent in the overtime session.

“We got off to a really slow start,” Ferrell said. “That has been one of our issues all season. Every time, we responded to get back in the game and we did again tonight. We had a never-say-die attitude, and this time, we were able to complete the comeback.”

THE SHOT: Carl Parrish hit a deep three to send the game into overtime tied at 77. He broke down the play in the postgame press conference.

“I heard somebody say triples, so I got the ball, shot it, prayed, and just God (helped me make it),” he said.

Radford’s Zach Chu chose not to foul up three.

“We had already used our foul to give and there was so little time left, we decided just to let it play out,” he said. (Parrish) made a great shot.”

STAT SHEET STUFFERS: Plenty of players on both sides had standout games. For Presbyterian, Parrish had 23 points, while Peterson had a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. Chiakwelu had 18 points on a perfect 8-8 from the floor. For Radford, Jones led the way with 22, while Johnson chipped in with 20 and Walls had 18.

RUINING THE CHALK: Presbyterian’s victory was the only one by a lower-seeded team during the quarterfinals. High Point, Winthrop and UNC Asheville have all advanced to the semifinals as higher seeds.

UP NEXT: Presbyterian (15-17) will now face Winthrop Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Radford’s season ends at 16-16.