Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412200039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Fortunately for the book-weary Higlanders, this test was pass-fail. That is, Radford graduated - but with gentleman's marks.
Radford (5-2) broke open a close game early in the second half and defeated the Pioneers 74-60 in what turned out to be a 3-point shootout.
Each team made 11 3-pointers during the game. Radford shot 58 percent from behind the 3-point arc, as Jason Lansdown made four of five attempts, and Corey Reed converted four of six.
Otherwise, the Highlanders, coming off of exam week, appeared sluggish. Coach Ron Bradley was less than ecstatic with the play of his team, which trailed several times in the first half and led only by one (29-28) a minute and 11 seconds before halftime.
``At halftime, I basically turned the team over to [senior captain] Chris Harvey,'' Bradley said. ``We needed some leadership. Harvey named the second-half starters, picked the defense, and made some substitutions.''
A 13-5 run to start the second half gave Radford a 46-33 lead.
Despite a late flurry of 3-pointers from guards Chris Carideo and Christian Albert, the Pioneers (5-3) never closed to fewer than seven points after that.
``Scheduling is always tough this time of year,'' Bradley said. ``We had kids in finals until 4 [Friday afternoon]. We only had an hour of practice four days this week. We knew we'd lose focus.
``[Our performance] was understandable, but not excusable.''
Radford, which was paced by Lansdown's 16 points and Harvey's 12 rebounds, dominated the boards 43-23.
``We had to do three things to have a chance,'' said Widener coach C. Alan Rowe, in his 30th season at the Pennsylvania school. ``We had to take care of the ball - and our turnovers didn't hurt us that much; we had to play defense - which we did; and we had to rebound - which we did not.''
Radford's stars were cautious in their victory.
``Coach told us we should think about the next 20 games,'' Lansdown said. ``We've got a mountain to climb.''
``We weren't into it,'' Harvey said. ``That's not normal Radford basketball. I don't want to take anything away from [Widener], but we didn't show up.''
Widener, which entered the game shooting 43 percent from 3-point range, made 11 of 27 (41 percent) Saturday. Carideo made five of 12 attempts en route to a game-high 25 points.
In a game that featured more 3-point baskets (22) than converted free throws (16), a four-point play may have been the game's most pivotal play.
With 1:11 remaining in the first half, Widener's Wellington Hughes was called for a foul when Radford's Anthony Walker missed a corner jumper. Rowe protested vehemently and referee William Covington called a technical.
Because the foul was behind the arc and the technical was on the bench, Walker was awarded five consecutive free-throw attempts. He made four, upping his team's lead to 33-28, and Radford got the ball out of bounds.
``I thought the foul came after the shot - and therefore, it shouldn't have been three free throws,'' Rowe said.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB