LEXINGTON, Va. ? Radford clinched the 2008-09 Big South regular season championship Saturday afternoon, defeating VMI 97-90 in a Big South contest played on Senior Day at Cameron Hall.
The win moves Radford to 17-10 overall, and 14-2 in the Big South. The Highlanders have now won eight in a row overall, nine straight on the road, and 12-of-14 overall. VMI falls to 20-7, and 11-5 in the Big South. The Keydets are in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season, having dropped three straight.
Holding a 54-50 advantage with just under 15 minutes to go, the Highlanders stretched the lead to 10 by outscoring the Keydets 11-5 over the next 3:22. A Kenny Thomas layup gave the visitors a 65-55 lead with 11:26 to play, but VMI answered with eight-consecutive points over the next 1:08 to cut the lead to just two. Radford then put the game away, thanks to an 18-8 run, capped by an Art Parakhouski dunk at the 4:36 mark. The slam gave the Highlanders a 12-point cushion, and VMI could get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Kenny Thomas led Radford in scoring with 28, including 16 in the second half, but the newly crowned Big South champions were paced by three different players with double-doubles, as Joey Lynch-Flohr, Amir Johnson, and Parakhouski all had at least 15 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson's 14 caroms was a career-high. VMI was led by Chavis Holmes, playing his final regular season game at Cameron Hall, who had 29 points in the setback. The Keydets also had four other players in double figures.
Radford scored the opening bucket of Saturday's contest, a three-pointer by Thomas, and VMI would never overcome that deficit. The initial phases of the game were back-and-forth, as the Highlanders took a 5-0 lead early, but VMI battled back to tie the game moments later. Leading 12-10 at the 14:33 mark, the visitors went on the game's first run, a 16-2 push capped by a Parakhouski dunk with 9:37 to play in the opening half. The slam made the score 28-12, RU.
The Highlanders pushed the lead out to 17 with 6:46 on the clock, as point guard Johnson hit a deep three-pointer, and the 4,744 partisan VMI fans were quieted. Radford held its lead at 11 until the 2:54 point of the half, when the Keydets mounted their first rally of the game. Three late baskets, two by the Holmes twins, helped cut the halftime deficit to seven and put the crowd back into the action.
At the intermission, VMI was paced by Chavis Holmes, who had 10 points and four assists. The visitors had three players in double figures, including Johnson, who had 10 points and nine rebounds in the opening frame. The key stat of the first 20 minutes was rebounding, as Radford outrebounded the Keydets 32-12, helping the Highlanders overcome 14 first half turnovers and hold their seven-point cushion.
The second half was 20 minutes of runs, as the home team got within four points on four different occasions over the opening five minutes. Each time, Radford was able to stem the rally with a crucial basket, and the Keydets could get no closer for the time being.
After a Keith Gabriel layup at 14:38, Radford went on the aforementioned 11-5 spurt to push the lead out to 10. Only three different players scored the run, as Thomas and Chris McEachin each had four points. Trailing by 10 with 11:26 to play, Austin Kenon hit one of his two treys, cutting the lead to seven. The next time down the floor, Travis Holmes hit a pair of free throws, and after a McEachin turnover, Gabriel hit a deep three-pointer to cut the lead to just two. The highly partisan crowd was on its feet, but Radford had the answer.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Johnson hit a jumper for RU to push the lead back to four. Travis Holmes missed a three-pointer, and Thomas converted a three-point play at the other end, extending the advantage to seven. The Keydets would get no closer than six the rest of the way, as the Highlanders led by as many as 13 down the stretch. VMI cut into the deficit, thanks to an exchange of free throws in the final minute, but ran out of time and fell to defeat, 97-90.
Radford was paced by Thomas' 28 points and seven rebounds, as well as the three players who posted double-doubles on the afternoon. VMI's Chavis Holmes had 29 points, while his brother Travis tallied 13 and grabbed 12 rebounds as the highest scoring twins in NCAA Division I history played their final regular season home game.
The Keydets return to action Tuesday, as they travel across the Blue Ridge Mountains to Liberty. The Keydets and Flames are set to tip off in the Vines Center at 7 p.m.
Quotes --- VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom:
“We were down two in the second half and Chavis went down and missed a shot, then they made a shot. That's a four-point turnaround, so instead of being tied, we're down four. We had some plays late where we had some open looks, and then had some selfish plays at the rim. Nobody was immune from that. We had some shooters open, your best shots come from inside out and we had some opportunities to hit some of those. ”
“We kept telling them every time out, they are 6-11 and 6-9. You are not going to finish over those guys. We don't finish well over with 6-4 guys, so that's why we spot up and have guys to shoot the ball. You don't shoot it well, you're not going to win the way we play. We didn't shoot it well tonight.”
“Kenny Thomas hit two huge threes that opened it back up for them on two trips down the floor. He hit some big shots for them last year. He's a good player, and I thought Amir Johnson, even though he had eight turnovers, did a good job handling our pressure.”
“We had a spurt there at ten minutes in the first half where it looked like a layup drill - we just didn't have any energy. When we played with more energy, we forced some turnovers and got some easy and good shots, but still, 16-for-54 (3-point range) is not going to win you many games.”
“Tuesday night is big. They are all big this time of year, and we certainly haven't treated them like that starting last Saturday. Now we'll get anchored up and head over to Lynchburg to hopefully shoot it better and play a little smarter.”
