RADFORD 62, COASTAL CAROLINA 52
Art Parakhouski recorded his 12th double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Radford held Coastal Carolina to just 31.7 percent shooting as the Highlanders ended the Chanticleers' 12-game winning streak with a 62-52 victory in front of a sold out Kimbel Arena Thursday.  With the win and High Point's setback at Charleston Southern, Radford (9-6, 5-1) moves within a half-game of first place in the Big South standings.

Coastal, which leads the League in scoring margin (+17.1) and field goal percentage (.498), finished 19-of-60 from the floor, including a 2-of-16 effort behind the arc.  Parakhouski, who entered the contest ranked among national leaders in scoring (3rd), rebounding (1st), field-goal percentage (2nd) and double-doubles (2nd), finished 8-of-12 from the floor en route to his 20th career outing with 20 points or more.  Laz Trifunovic and Blake Smith also contributed double digits for the Highlanders with 16 and 10 points, respectively.  In addition to his 10th double figure performance of the season, Trifunovic missed just one of his eight tries from the line and grabbed eight rebounds.  As a team, Radford finished 19-of-30 (63.3) from the charity stripe.

Along with holding Coastal Carolina (16-3, 6-1) without a field goal for over eight minutes and to just 27.6 percent (8-29) in the first half, the Highlanders closed with an 11-5 spurt, including seven points from Parakhouski, to head into the break up, 26-19.  After Coastal's Chad Gray cut the deficit to 15-12 at the 10:07 mark, Radford limited the Chanticleers to only two free throws until Dexter Moore's trey with 1:46 left ended the drought.  Following Sam McLaurin's dunk to open the second half, Radford ran off seven unanswered capped off by a Trifunovic three-pointer to stretched its advantage to 12, 33-21.  Coastal Carolina closed to within six on several occasions, including with 3:18 remaining, but the Highlanders stretched the margin back to double figures where it would stay the rest of the way.

Radford, which connected on 52.4 percent (11-21) of its attempts in the second half, finished with 41.7 percent (20-48) clip.  The Highlanders edged the Chanticleers on the glass, 41-38.  Mario Edwards led the Chants with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Joseph Harris had 11 points and nine rebounds.  Harris also grabbed his 1,000^th rebound in the second half and needs 12 more boards to become the Big South Conference's all-time rebounding leader.  Gray was the third Chant in double figures with 13 points.

Radford will conclude its three-game trip away from home with a 7:30 p.m. tip at Charleston Southern Saturday evening.  Coastal Carolina hosts High Point Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 73, HIGH POINT 69
Charleston Southern continued to roll in Conference play, while staying unbeaten at home, in a 73-69 win over the High Point Panthers Thursday, at the CSU Field House.  Kelvin Martin and Jeremy Sexton scored 20 points apiece, helping the Bucs to erase a 14 point first half deficit.  With the win, CSU improved to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in the Big South, while HPU dropped to 9-7 with a 4-2 Conference record.  The last time a CSU team was .500 or better in Big South play after six games, was during the 2004-05 season. 

Martin and Sexton both shot well from the field, boasting 7-15 and 7-12 marks, respectively.  After struggling early, Jamarco Warren scored 12 points, all of which were in the second half.   Billy Blackmon also contributed with his best outing of the year, scoring six points, while collecting eight rebounds and three blocks.  Eugene Harris led the way for the Panthers, with 19 points on 6-11 shooting.  CSU was on the board first with a Sexton layup, but five lead changes in the early minutes gave HPU a 7-8 lead at the 14:51 mark.  The Panthers created some separation from there, using a 12-3 run to go up 19-10 midway through the half.

Martin narrowed the margin to six with a three point play, that made the score 21-15 with 8:46 on the clock.  HPU responded with a 9-1 run however, to take their biggest lead of the game, with a 30-16 advantage.  The Bucs managed used the bonus to their advantage, heading to the foul line several times towards the end of the first half.  CSU closed the gap to four on multiple occasions, before two Tom Tankelewicz free throws brought the halftime score to 40-35, with the Panthers holding the edge.  A Nick Barbour three early on in the second frame had HPU up 45-39, but the Bucs surged for a 6-1 run, to get within one.  Blackmon capped off the run with a layup that made it a 46-45 score, with 14:55 on the clock.  Both teams got multiple defensive stops from there, with the Panthers holding on to a slim advantage.

CSU tied the game at 57-57 and a Jo'el Lamb free throw put the Bucs on top for the first time in the second half, with a 58-57 score.  CSU then got six consecutive points from Sexton, as part of a 13-1 run for the Bucs, which stretched over six minutes.  Sexton's layup with 2:51 remaining in the game made it a 64-58 CSU advantage.  The Bucs led by as many as seven on a Warren layup at the 1:06 mark, to take control of the game.  CSU had free throws from Martin and Lamb, en route to a final 73-69 win.

Next up, CSU will try to stay unbeaten at home when they play host to the Radford Highlanders on Saturday, at 7:30 p.m.  High Point travels to Coastal Carolina on Saturday, playing in a 2 p.m. contest. 

UNC ASHEVILLE 97, VMI 84
Sean Smith scored a season-high 20 points as UNC Asheville ended a six-game losing streak with a 97-84 Big South Conference road win over VMI Thursday night.  The Bulldogs (4-12, 2-4 Big South) had six players in double figures in the victory as Asheville rallied from an early 13-point deficit to pick up its third straight win at VMI.  The Bulldogs won despite a career-high 21 points from Stan Okoye, who also had 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Asheville scored its third consecutive win at Cameron Hall.  VMI falls to 5-10 and 1-5 in the Big South.

Smith went 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.  The senior guard moved into second place on the school's career list for three-pointers made as he now has 167.  Also in double figures for Asheville was sophomore guard J.P. Primm with 17 points and six assists.  John Williams chipped in 16 points, while Chris Stephenson added 15.  Matt Dickey contributed 12 points and freshman guard Jaron Lane had 10 points.  The Keydets (5-10, 1-5) were led by Stan Okoye with 21 points.

The Bulldogs jumped out to the early lead, as Smith scored the game's first bucket just 21 seconds in.  The Keydets tied it moments later on a Stephen Sargent basket, and the teams settled in for several minutes of back-and-forth action.  Neither squad was able to gain larger than a six-point advantage, as the teams battled through three ties and seven lead changes in the opening eight-plus minutes.  Trailing 17-16 after an Eric Stubbs layup at the 11:32 mark, VMI went on the game's first run.  A 12-0 rally over the next 2:42, capped by a Nick Gore basket with 8:50 left in the half, gave the Keydets a 28-17 advantage.  The home team then scored four of the next six points, including a three-pointer by Okoye, to take their biggest lead of the opening half, 32-19.

Asheville answered with an even larger run, a startling 33-10 push, to close out the half.  The spurt included separate runs of 11-0 and 6-0, and helped the visiting Bulldogs take a 52-42 advantage into the locker room.  The opening half saw Keith Gabriel lead all scorers with 19 points, while Smith led Asheville with 14 markers, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.  The Bulldogs shot 53% from the floor en route to the double-digit halftime lead, and they widened their advantage early in the second period.  An 8-2 Asheville run coming out of the break pushed the margin to 16, and after a VMI basket, the Bulldogs scored the next two hoops to take their biggest lead of the night, 64-46, with 14:53 left to play.  During the 12-4 run to open the half, the Keydets lost their leading scorer, as Gabriel left the court due to an apparent leg injury that will be reevaluated Friday.  From there, the visitors maintained at least an 11-point advantage until the 9:15 mark, when an Okoye free throw cut the margin to 10, 77-67.

That free throw started a VMI push, as the Keydets gradually chipped away and cut the Bulldogs' advantage to just four, 82-78 with 5:03 remaining, but Asheville went on to close the game with a 15-6 run to account for the final margin.  For the first time this season, the Keydets out-rebounded their opponents, as they claimed a 52-48 advantage on the glass, helped by Sargent's career-high eight rebounds.  VMI also nearly equaled the opposition in points in the paint, 46-44.  A 5-for-35 outing from three-point range, however, was VMI's lowest output in the past 57 Keydet games, dating back to Feb. 2, 2008.

Asheville plays next at Big South foe Liberty Saturday night at 7 p.m.  The Keydets will return to action Saturday evening, as they play host to the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at Cameron Hall. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

LIBERTY 68, GARDNER-WEBB 57
Senior Kyle Ohman became the Liberty men's basketball program's 21st member of its 1,000-point club Thursday night, as the Flames defeated Gardner-Webb inside the Vines Center, 68-57.  Coming off a narrow loss to Winthrop on Saturday, Liberty maintained its place in the top half of the Big South standings with the win, improving to 4-2 in Conference play.

Gardner-Webb lit up the scoreboard first, when Jonathan Moore hit a trey to take the early 3-0 lead 25 seconds into the contest.  The Flames responded with a 7-0 run, thanks to baskets from Antwan Burrus, Ohman and Evan Gordon for a 7-3 Liberty at 17:20.  The Runnin' Bulldogs halted the burst with 14:51 remaining, when Grayson Flittner found C.J. Hailey alone under the basket for the layup, cutting Liberty's lead to a pair, 7-5. Gardner-Webb then regained the lead, 8-7, at 13:32 with a Flittner three-pointer.  The visiting team's advantage was short-lived, as Jeremy Anderson netted a trey of his own, giving the Flames a 10-8 edge at 12:46.  The Runnin' Bulldogs knotted the contest at 10 just 15 seconds later on an Auryn MacMillan layup.

Liberty created some breathing room for itself over the next 3:16, with buckets from Chris Perez and Jesse Sanders, giving Liberty a 14-10 advantage at 9:15.  Following a made free throw by Gardner-Webb's Stefon Johnson, Gordon netted another layup, extending Liberty's lead to five, 16-11 at 8:16.  Gardner-Webb erased the deficit at the 7:00 mark, as a Johnson layup knotted the contest at 16. The Runnin' Bulldogs regained the advantage with a basket by Anton Silver, making it 18-16 with 6:18 remaining.  Carter McMasters tied the contest at 18, just 23 ticks later on a fast break.  The Flames then tacked on four more points, courtesy of baskets from Burrus and Sanders to take a 22-18 edge at 3:58.

Ohman joined Liberty's exclusive 1,000 point club with 3:43 remaining in the opening half, hitting a shot at the charity stripe.  With the made free throw, the senior became the 21st player to reach the milestone in school history.  Upon accomplishing the feat, Ohman netted another shot at the line, capping off a 6-0 Liberty run.  After a Gardner-Webb basket, Ohman hit a jumper at 1:37, ultimately making it 26-20 at halftime.  Ohman and Moore led all scorers at intermission with six points, followed by Gordon who finished with five.  Liberty shot 39.3 percent (11-of-28 shooting) from the field in the period, while holding the Runnin' Bulldogs to 26.7 percent (8-of-30).

The second half began with a pair of three-pointers, as Flittner netted a trey to make it a one possession game, 26-23 at 19:42.  Ohman answered nine seconds later, hitting a long jumper own to give Liberty a five-point advantage, 28-23.  Following a pair of made free throws to make it 28-25 at 19:25, Liberty went on a 15-0 tear over the next 4:37 to take a 43-25 lead.  Liberty's run consisted of baskets by Konan and Burrus, as well as treys from Sanders and Ohman.  Gardner-Webb responded with four unanswered tallies to cut Liberty's lead to 14, 43-29, with 13:58 remaining in the contest.  Liberty jumped out to its largest lead of the game at 10:37, when Anderson netted a three-point basket to give the Flames a 19-point edge, 53-34.

After the Flames had held a 15 or more point advantage over the next 5:37, Gardner-Webb trimmed Liberty's lead to 14 with 5:00 left on the game clock, as Moore sunk a trey to make it 61-47.  Just over two and a half minutes later, Hailey hit a three-pointer to cut it eight, with 3:26 left in the contest, capping off an 11-0 spurt.  The Flames managed to hold off the Runnin' Bulldogs in the closing minutes, outscoring the visitors 7-4 for the 68-57 decision.

Hailey finished as the game's leading scorer, posting 18 of his 20 points in the second half.  Ohman led the Flames with 17 points, followed by Sanders (12) and Burrus (10).  The sophomore point guard and freshman forward also grabbed nine boards apiece.  The Flames shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field for the game, while holding the Runnin' Bulldogs to 31.3 percent (20-of-64).  With the victory, Liberty improves to 9-9 on the season and 4-2 in Big South play. Gardner-Webb falls to 4-12 overall and 1-5 in Big South play.  The Flames currently are tied for third in the Conference standings, as High Point fell to Charleston Southern on the road, 73-69.

Liberty continues Conference play on Saturday, by hosting UNC Asheville.  Tipoff for Saturday's game is slated for 7 p.m.  Gardner-Webb remains in the Commonwealth this weekend, traveling to Lexington, Va., to face the VMI Keydets.  Tipoff inside Cameron Hall is set for 7 p.m.