Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 1, 1992 TAG: 9203010188
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: ASHEVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Robert Watson scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as UNC Asheville upset Radford 79-76 on Saturday night in Big South play.
The game had no effect in the league standings. Radford (19-8 overall, 12-2 Big South), the regular season champion, will play eighth-seeded Winthrop in the first round of the tournament in Anderson, S.C., Thursday at 6 p.m.
"You don't like to go into the tournament with a loss," said Radford coach Ron Bradley. "You like to go in peaking. We'll just have to come out and play harder in the tournament."
Mike Alexander added 15 points, Derek Borden 13, Willie Black 13 and John Jacoby 12 for the Bulldogs (9-18, 6-8), who outrebounded Radford by 14 and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds.
"Our half-court defense let us down tonight, particularly in allowing offensive rebounds," Bradley said. "They had 16 and that's way too many.
"I was disappointed with the way we executed in the last six or seven minutes, but we didn't have all the people we needed on the floor because of foul trouble."
Doug Day, who led the Highlanders with 25 points, hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to pull his team to 78-76.
After Watson hit one of two free throws, Day's long 3-point attempt to tie the score missed with two seconds left and UNC Asheville ran out the clock.
Day, the former Blacksburg High star, made nine of 22 shots, including 5-for-15 beyond the 3-point arc. Chris Hawkins added 13 points, Don Burgess 11 and Stephen Barber 10 for Radford.
The score was 39-39 at halftime, and neither team led by more than five in the second half. The Highlanders held a 66-61 lead with 4:14 remaining, but went nearly two minutes without scoring while the Bulldogs regained the lead.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB