Radford Survives One-Point Season-Opening Thriller

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Radford men’s basketball placed four players in double figures and used a strong defensive effort to hold off Yale, 72-71. The season opening win Friday night came in the first game of the William & Mary Tip-Off Classic at William & Mary Hall.

RU sophomore Chris Oliver (Kernersville, N.C.) led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Junior Whit Holcomb-Faye (Winston-Salem, N.C.) had 16 points and six assists and senior Olumuyiwa Popoola (Gardena, Calif.) scored 12. Sophomore Reggie McIntyre (Piedmont, S.C.) fell one point short of tying a career high with 10 points.

Yale (0-1) had a chance to win the game as time wound down, but sophomore Sam Kaplan’s (Worcester, Mass.) 18-footer missed and RU junior Andre Bynum corralled the rebound to secure the one-point victory, RU’s second consecutive season-opening win.

Radford (1-0) broke open a close game to start the second half, using an 6-2 run to take a five-point lead with 18:56 left. The Bulldogs chipped away at that lead, but a three-pointer by Oliver at 16:19 push RU’s advantage back to eight. Yale closed the gap, however, tying the game at 47 on a trey by senior Alex Gamboa (Reno, Nev.) with 12:56 remaining.

The teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes until the Highlanders built another lead with a 7-1 run capped by a pair of free throws by Holcomb-Faye. A three-pointer by Popoola pushed the lead back to eight, but Yale would again close in and tie the game, this time at 71 on a jumper by senior Edwin Draughan (Lakewood, Calif.). Popoola would hit a late free throw to give Radford the one-point advantage and the final margin.

Yale placed three players in double figures, led by Gamboa’s 16 points and four assists. Draughan had 13 points, four assists and seven rebounds and junior Dominick Martin (Asheville, N.C.) scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Yale sophomore Casey Hughes (New Haven, Conn.) led all rebounders with nine.

The Highlanders will face the winner of game two between host William & Mary and Hartford tomorrow in the championship game. Game time will be 6:00 pm if the opponents is Hartford and 8:30 pm if it’s the Tribe.