Radford Highlanders

Jones with 23 as Radford holds onto Big South lead 80-61

Published Feb. 2, 2019 4:43 p.m. ET

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Carlik Jones scored 18 of his 23 points after halftime Saturday when Radford took control in an 80-61 win over Winthrop, rebounding from a stunning loss to maintain its spot atop the Big South Conference.

Winthrop was seeking to take over first place from the Highlanders after Radford was shocked, 68-67 on Wednesday when the nation's leading scorer, Chris Clemons drained a 35-foot shot at the buzzer for Campbell.

Radford (16-7, 8-1) lost an eight-game win streak and were trailing at halftime Saturday. Ed Polite, Jr. opened the second half with a 3-pointer and the Highlanders pulled away with an 18-6 surge. Winthrop never pulled closer than seven the rest of the way.

Jones, a sophomore, made 8 of 11 shots and hauled in a career-best 10 rebounds with six assists, notching his second career double-double.

Polite scored nine and had 11 boards. Travis Fields Jr. scored 16 and Caleb Tanner 11.

Nych Smith led the Eagles (14-8, 6-3) with 22 points, but Winthrop shot just 27.5 percent in the second half.

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