The 2022-23 season had its curtain call on Tuesday night as the Radford University men’s basketball team fell to Charlotte, 63-56, in the CBI semifinals.
In Darris Nichols‘ second season leading the way, the Highlanders finished 21-15 overall, the 12th team in program history to eclipse the 20-win mark. This squad also became the first in program history to win multiple postseason tournament games in a single season.
It was a cold shooting night all around for Radford, with Bryan Antoine and Josiah Jeffers serving as the only exceptions. Antoine paced all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting while Jeffers added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
In total, the Highlanders were just 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field and 2-for-13 (15.4%) from three-point range. It didn’t help that the free throw margin was so lopsided; Charlotte was 17-for-19 at the line while Radford was just 2-for-4.
The 49ers raced out to a 10-2 lead to start the contest before the Highlanders finally acclimated themselves to their high-screening offense which orbits the 6’11”, 275-pound Aly Khalifa.
Radford battled all the way back make it a 27-24 deficit at halftime and even took a 36-34 lead with 13:36 to go in the second half. Charlotte didn’t take it well, as they flipped the script back in their favor with a 15-2 run over six minutes of game time to pull away.
Brice Williams dropped a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double to help the 49ers fend off each and every comeback push that came their way. Lu’cye Patterson added 13 points and Isaiah Folkes ended the game with 11 points of his own.
KEY STATS
Radford earned a 36-to-26 advantage in points in the paint.
Charlotte’s bench was responsible for 22 points while Radford’s bench only mustered six points.
The 49ers tallied 13 assists on 20 made baskets.
Radford University Athletics