The Radford University men’s basketball team couldn’t quite close the gap against a hot-shooting Gardner-Webb team and ultimately fell, 76-65, in the Big South Championship Game at the Dedmon Center on Sunday.
Every single time the Highlanders attempted to come back in the second half, Gardner-Webb scored a big shot to protect its lead. The Runnin’ Bulldogs shot 70.0-percent (14-20) in the second half in an unbelievable offensive performance.
Junior guard Donald Hicks gave it everything he had to keep the Highlanders in the game, going 5-for-6 from three to finish with 17 points. Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. played well in his final game at Dedmon, scoring 15 points to go with five rebound and three blocks. Redshirt sophomore guard Carlik Jones gave Radford a third player in double figures, tallying 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Just like in the semifinal game against No. 6 Charleston Southern, the Highlanders got off to a slow start shooting the ball. In the first half, they went 10-for-35 (28.6%) from the field and 2-for-10 (20%) from beyond the arc.
Hicks knocked down the first shot attempt of the game – a 3-pointer from the corner – but that 3-0 lead wouldn’t last long. Gardner-Webb went on a 12-0 run that lasted from 12:17 to 9:13 and pushed its lead all the way to 20-7.
Radford struggled to produce open looks and went more than eight minutes of game time without scoring a point. The drought finally ended when Polite Jr. finished at the rim with an acrobatic move between two defenders.
A 6-0 run by the Highlanders over the final few minutes of the period brought the score to 27-22 in favor of Gardner-Webb heading into halftime.
The second half was much more exciting for the 2,772 spectators that packed the arena thanks to a large uptick in scoring. A Polite Jr. dunk ignited the crowd as the GWU lead was cut to just three in the opening moments, but that would be as close as Radford would get.
By the 17:01 mark, Gardner-Webb returned its lead to 10 and it would reach as much as 13 again with 13:07 to go. In a lightning-fast sequence two minutes later, the Highlanders rattled off eight straight points including two 3-pointers from Hicks to cut the deficit to six.
No matter what the Highlanders did though, the Runnin’ Bulldogs just kept making shots. Radford was forced the full court press and when GWU broke the press, they were forced to foul. The final few minutes ticked away and the comeback effort fell short.
Gardner-Webb’s senior forward DJ Laster dominated with 32 points on 14-for-17 shooting to will his team to the title. David Efianayi (15) and Jose Perez (11) also scored in double figures.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
DJ Laster, Gardner-Webb (MVP)
David Efianayi, Gardner-Webb
Ed Polite Jr., Radford
Chris Clemons, Campbell
Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern
Free throws became a huge factor in this game. Gardner-Webb went 21-for-28 at the charity stripe and Radford only went 2-for-3. The Highlanders’ first free throw attempt didn’t come for more than 37 minutes into the game.
Stay tuned to find out if the Highlanders are offered and/or accept a bid to any postseason tournaments. Gardner-Webb has earned the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the NIT bracket will be announced following the NCAA Selection Show.
–RU Athletics
