Radford secures first-ever win at NCAA Tournament

DAYTON, Ohio — Travis Fields Jr. and Ed Polite Jr. each scored 13 points to lift Radford to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, 71-61 over LIU Brooklyn in the First Four on Tuesday night.

Carlik Jones added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Highlanders, who move on to face No. 1 seed Villanova on Thurs- day in Pittsburgh. Radford, the Big South champion, is making its third tournament appearance and first since 2009.

LIU Brooklyn stayed within striking distance for much of the game and got to within a point with five minutes left, but a 9-1 surge by the Highlanders allowed them to close it out.

The Blackbirds went without a field goal in the last seven minutes of the game and shot 30.4 per cent in the second half. Both teams were plagued by turnovers.

Jashaun Agosto scored 16 points and Raiquan Clark added 14 for LIU Brooklyn, which is winless in seven trips to the tournament.

Radford led 30-28 at the end of a sloppy first half. The Blackbirds scored 11 of their points on nine turnovers by Radford but were just 3-for-13 from beyond the threepoint line in the half.

BIG PICTURE

LIU Brooklyn: Got hot in the Northeast Conference tournament but couldn’t sustain it on the big stage, shooting just 38 per cent compared to 47.5 per cent for Radford.

Radford: At times the Highlanders looked like they didn’t want it, either, but they played better in the second half on the back of Jones, who had seven assists to go with his double-double.