MBB Tournament Gallery
ASHEVILLE, NC— Winthrop put in a strong defensive effort but couldn't overcome cold shooting in the second half as it fell 61-52 to second-seeded Radford in the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament Friday evening.
 
WINTHROP (19-12, 12-6 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Adam Pickett (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)
• Xavier Cooks (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks)
• Josh Ferguson (9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block) 

RADFORD (20-12, 12-6 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Carlik Jones (16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals)
• Ed Polite Jr. (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
• Travis Fields Jr. ( 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) 

FIRST HALF

• Eagles got off to a good start, making 6-of-6 field goals and led 15-10 with 14:07 left in the half
• That's when Radford grabbed the momentum and went on a 14-0 run to pull in front 24-15 with 10:38 left
• The Highlanders hit six straight shots during the run that was also aided by a couple of Winthrop turnovers
• The Eagles scoring drought lasted just over five minutes as Adam Pickett scored on a short jumper to end the Highlander run
• As the defense began to get stops the offense finally caught up and Winthrop went on a 7-0 run to pull within two points at 24-20 with 6:23 remaining in the half
• The run ended on a turnover that led to two Carlik Jones free throws for a 26-22 lead
• Four consecutive free throws as part of a technical foul to the Eagles put the Highlanders up by five points
• Winthrop had an answer as it hit back-to-back threes from Josh Ferguson and Austin Awad for a 31-30 lead
• Out of a media timeout, Ed Polite Jr. scored on a dunk inside to put Radford back in the lead for the remainder of the half
• Caleb Tanner hit a contested three from the wing in front of the Eagle bench with 29 seconds to play in the half
• Kyle Zunic answered as he hit a deep three from the wing to make it a one possession game at the break, 37-34
• The Eagles shot 57 percent from the floor in the half, but turned the ball over 10 times as Radford capitalized on the miscues for 14 points
• Rebounds were even in the first half at 15-15, but Radford had eight offensive boards and 10 second chance points 

SECOND HALF

• Pickett scored two baskets early in the half to put the Eagles on top 38-37
• The Eagle defense continued to get stops, but the offense couldn't extend the lead like it would have liked but held Radford to an 0-for-9 start from the floor
• Zunic hit a three from the wing for a four-point advantage and then Cooks hit two free throws to extend it to six (45-39)
• Carlik Jones hit a big three as the shot clock wound down to cut the Eagles lead in half with just over 11 minutes remaining
• Pickett did answer with a three to put the Eagles back up four
• With 4:30 to play in the game, Radford's Christian Bradford drove the lane and scored off glass for a 51-50 lead
• Radford wouldn't not relinquish the lead as the Eagles couldn't get shots to fall down the stretch
• Ferguson's free throws with 3:45 to play were the last points for the Eagles as that made it 54-52
• Winthrop shot just 29 percent in the second half despite 3-of-5 to star the second half
• Radford finished the second half shooting 24 percent 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop finished the game shooting 34 percent while Radford shot 40 percent
• The Highlanders finished with a big advantage at the foul line going 21-for-26 while the Eagles were 5-for-8
• Turnovers proved costly for the Eagles as they committed 15 in the game and forced just five that led to a 17-1 advantage for Radford in points off turnovers
• Winthrop did win the rebounding battle 35-32 as offensive rebounds were pretty even (RU 11, WU 10)
• Kyle Zunic provided eight points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting 

 
NOTABLES

• Winthrop held Radford to 2-for-26 shooting from the 10:22 mark of the first half to the 11:52 mark of the second half
• The Eagles finished the game missing their final 11 shots and 13-of-14 over the final 9:26
• The Eagles finished with 19 wins as the team has won at least that many in five straight season with three 20-win seasons
• With the loss Winthrop now falls to 15-6 all-time in conference tournament semifinal appearances and the first under Pat Kelsey in five appearances
• Xavier Cooks finishes as the program's third leading scorer with 1,778, the all-time leader in rebounds with 983 and all-time leader in blocks (221)