FARMVILLE, Va. – Six games has done a lot for the Big South's preseason favorite.
 
Just 16 days since overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit to steal a 71-64 win from upset-minded Longwood in the conference opener on Jan. 5, Big South frontrunner Radford (14-6, 6-0 Big South) controlled round two of the Commonwealth rivalry matchup from the start and cruised to a 72-59 win Monday evening in Willett Hall.
 
Reigning Big South Freshman of the Year and Preseason All-Big South point guard Carlik Jones got the better of Longwood (12-9, 2-4 Big South) again, scoring 21 points – including 14 in a runaway second half – to hand the Lancers only their second home loss of the season.
 
The Highlanders remain the only unbeaten team in the Big South and extend their lead over second-place Winthrop (13-6, 5-1 Big South) – which Longwood defeated 75-61 on the road this past week – to one full game.
 
Monday night in Willett Hall it was once again Jones who led Radford's second-half charge, shooting 9-of-12 from the floor and committing just one turnover in his 33 minutes of action. That 21-point performance followed the 24 points he scored in the first meeting between the teams in Radford, Va.
 
Jones poured in 14 of those 21 points in the second half and once again ignited a second-half rally that changed the complexion of the game. Monday night it was a 15-3 run during a five-minute span early out of halftime that turned the game in Radford's favor for good, turning a 48-44 lead to double digits for the remainder of the game.
 
"I thought we came out in the second half, especially that first three or four minutes, and it was just a lack of discipline and a lack of execution on our defensive principles," said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich. "I thought we did a pretty good job on Jones in the first half keeping him out of the paint, and then two of the first three or four possessions, he gets right to the rim. One's an and-1, and one's a basket. When you have letdown like that, it changed the momentum of the game."
 
The Lancers, playing the Big South's preseason No. 1 for the second time in six games, suffered back-to-back losses for only the second time under first-year head coach Griff Aldrich and are now 7-2 in games following a defeat.
 
Jones' performance came in a battle between two of the Big South's highest scoring guards, with Longwood redshirt senior Isaiah Walton carrying the Lancers on the offensive end with a game-high 26 points. Walton scored 21 of those during a first half that sent Longwood into halftime trailing 36-34, but Radford clamped down and held him to five points the rest of the way.
 
"I never thought we got into a flow offensively," said Aldrich, whose Lancers hit just seven three-pointers, their fewest in Big South play this season.
 
"Isaiah made some tough shots in the first half, but if we have to rely on him making whirling-dervish shots, then we're going to be in trouble. He's a really good scorer, but many of those were hard baskets. Some of them were good shots, and as I said before, he has more flexibility to go and create – but if we're relying on him to go on-on-one and make really acrobatic, difficult shots, we're not going to be successful most nights."
 
With Walton and Jones dueling throughout their 20-point nights, Jones' supporting cast made up the difference as fellow preseason all-conference teammate Ed Polite Jr. stuffed the box score with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Caleb Tanner added 10 points and hit three three-pointers, including a back-breaking four-point play with 12:15 remaining that started the 15-3 run.
 
Longwood hit just 1-of-7 shots and turned the ball over four times during that five-minute tear and needed two free throws from Franklin at the seven-minute mark to break up 11 unanswered points.
 
"Our guys have battled hard, and I told them there wasn't a problem with our effort; there was a problem with our execution of our defensive principles and our offensive principles," Aldrich said. "We have to be more precise, more crisp on every single possession with executing exactly what we wanted to do.
 
"But I will say there's a difference between effort and competing," Aldrich continued. "Our effort was good, but I didn't love our competitiveness. You have a preseason all-conference player diving on the ball for loose balls, well that's why they're winning championships. Those are winning plays. Longwood has to be a team that's diving on the floor, and we didn't do that. As one of the players in our locker room said, it has to mean more to us. He's right – the effort is good, but we as a program still have to develop a competitive fire. That's not always easy to do."
 
Next up for the Lancers is a home game against High Point this Thursday, Jan. 24, in Willett Hall, followed by a road trip two days later to USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
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