RADFORD, Va. – Big South freshman scoring leader Carlik Jones scored 18 points to help first-place Radford outlast red-hot Longwood 70-63 in a whistle-to-whistle showdown between two of the Big South's hottest teams Thursday evening in the Dedmon Center.
 
In a game that was within one possession in the final minute, the Big South-leading Highlanders (13-7, 6-1 Big South) made their free throws count down the stretch to pull away from a Longwood squad that entered the game winners of three of their past four.
 
Radford finished 18-of-22 from the free throw line and turned 17 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points to overcome four Lancers who scored in double figures. Forward Randy Phillips led Radford's charge in the paint, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds, as the Highlanders won the rebounding battle 40-23.
 
The win was Radford's second in a row, eighth in the past nine games, and kept the Highlanders a perfect 7-0 on their home court.
 
"The rebounding was the difference in the game," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "We just couldn't keep them off the boards. Phillips was just a bear in there. He only had four rebounds, but those numbers aren't indicative of the damage he did. His physicality was a big difference in the game."
 
Longwood (6-14, 3-4 Big South) led for the first nine minutes of the game before the Highlanders mounted a 16-6 run that sent them into halftime with a 31-25 lead. Longwood rallied to tie the game at 60-60 on an Isaiah Walton three-pointer with 2:15 to play, but Radford regained the lead on an Ed Polite Jr. tip-in and hit 8-of-8 free throws the rest of the way.
 
Walton finished with a team-high 16 points for Longwood but played just seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. He fouled out with 20 seconds to play after hitting a three-pointer that cut Radford's lead to 67-63.
 
"Foul trouble really hurt us, particularly taking Isaiah Walton off the court for an extended period of time in the first half," Gee said. "That really was a huge void for us offensively, but I thought at the end of the day, our kids competed really hard. I said before the game Spencer Franklin would be a key, and he really responded tonight. Thirteen points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals. I thought he was tremendous."
 
Franklin's 13 points were a career high and came on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. B.K. Ashe added 14 points, and Damarion Geter also scored in double digits with 12.
 
"What I told our team was you found out what you need to do to beat the number one team in the league," Gee said. "That's rebound the ball and take care of the ball. I thought there were some correctable things we can do, and we have to get those corrected the next time we play them."
 
Next up for Longwood is a home matchup against High Point this Sunday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. in Willett Hall. That is the first of back-to-back matchups against a pair of traditional Big South powers, as the preseason No. 2 Winthrop Eagles come to Farmville three days later for a Jan. 24 matchup on Jerome Kersey Court.
 
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