GameDay Preview: vs Safety School (17–10,7–5)
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Javonte Green had a vicious double-double in the first game this year between Radford and Longwood, can the Lancers slow him down tonight?[/caption]
Where: Historic Willett Hall
When: Wednesday February 19, 7 PM
TV/Streaming: Big South Network (FREE)
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Last year Radford came into Willett Hall for the first since the 2004–05 season and the Highlanders were absolutely dominated by Longwood in a 76–61 win for the Lancers. Tristan Carey was the star that night dropping 31 points on Mike Jones’ squad, who never seemed to get comfortable in the friendly confines. Lucas Woodhouse also had a big night in that game posting 12 points and 11 assists. Tonight, Longwood welcomes Radford back to Willett Hall hoping to put together a similar performance and build momentum off of Saturday’s 76–53 win at Campbell.
Longwood last saw Radford just over a month ago on the road in a game in which the Lancers fell 93–76, despite 27 points from Carey and 17 from Woodhouse. Javonte Green was the star for the Highlanders that night with 17 point and 19 rebounds. All in all the Lancers downfall in that game was on the glass where they were outrebounded 45–26 on the evening. If Longwood wants to pull out a win tonight then they’ll have to crash the glass a lot hard and keep guys like Green and Kion Brown off it.
When you look at Radford in conference one thing comes very apparent… if the Highlanders don’t score then they don’t win. In Radford’s seven Big South wins they’ve averaged 79.9 points per game, meanwhile in their five losses they’ve averaged 69.8 points per game. It seems a little simplistic, but if Longwood wants to win Wednesday night against Radford then they need to play defense, crash the boards, and keep Radford off the foul line where they were 25-for-28 in the first meeting this year. If you try to get in a shootout with the Highlanders then their superior depth will eventually overcome you and while Green may be having a rough night, someone like Ya Ya Anders or RJ Price will step up in his place. Last week’s game against Asheville was a prime example as Andrew Rowsey dropped 42 on the Highlanders and it looked like the Bulldogs were going to shoot their way to victory. Instead, UNCA found themselves on the losing end of a 102–92 game thanks to balanced, deep play from Radford and 50 free throw attempts for the Highlanders.
This is an in-state rivalry that has picked up some steam over the past couple of years and hopefully tonight is another great chapter. Willett Hall was at capacity a year ago for this one and hopefully it will be again tonight.
If you can’t make it to Willett then you can watch the game for free on the Big South Network.
