www.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/231928RU shuts down the Bulldogs' long ball
The Highlanders hold Gardner-Webb's Grayson Flittner to one field goal in the victory.
By Ray Cox
381-1672
RADFORD -- Gardner-Webb has been in the Big South Conference only one-plus seasons. That's been plenty long enough for its opponents to figure out that the Bulldogs can be murder on the perimeter.
Radford University was having none of that Monday night.
Holding its visitor's best shooter to 1-for-9 accuracy and the team as a whole to under 30 percent from the floor, the Highlanders maintained a spotless league record with a 75-45 triumph before a mostly student-free audience of 1,014 at the Dedmon Center.
Radford (8-5, 4-0) never trailed despite an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers and a return to so-so shooting at the foul line. Holding ace guard Grayson Flittner to one field goal was a big help.
"We were sound defensively right from the start and that was key," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said. "We wanted to see if we could stop Flittner. He's played against us three times in the last two years and in those three games he's average 20 points and he's made about 45 percent of his 3s. ... He made his first shot but didn't make another shot."
It was nothing that Rick Scruggs, Gardner-Webb's coach, didn't expect.
"He's one of the top-50 shooters in the country according to some people," Scruggs said. "When you hold him to 1-for-9, that's going to slow us down totally as a team. We sort of go as Grayson goes. When you stop him, you stop the head of our attack."
Radford freshmen Blake Smith and Evan Faulkner along with senior Phillip Martin took turns locking Flittner in the deep freeze. A former finalist for Indiana's Mr. Basketball who once led all high school classifications in that state with a 29.1 point per game scoring average, Flittner rarely got a good look at the basket. Gardner-Webb (3-10, 0-3) lost its 10th straight on a schedule that also has included Texas, North Carolina, and Duke.
At the other end of the floor, the Highlanders as usual exploited a size advantage. Center Art Parakhouski, the 6-foot-11 senior from Belarus, led all with 26 points and 14 rebounds. It was the 10th time in 13 games he has recorded double figures in both categories. More specifically, he had a double-double before intermission, the fourth time he's done that in a half.
"We took serious this game," he said. "The coach told us before the game that they'd come here with nothing to lose. They beat us last year here."
Laz Trifunovic added to the inside-outside effort with 16 points and point guard Amir Johnson added 10 points, five assists, and four steals. Greenberg was able to use all his players in the game including walk-ons Cole Wilder of Wytheville and Daniel Mitchell of Blacksburg.
Radford shot 49.1 percent from the floor including 7-for-16 from distance. Trifunovic and Parakhouski were a combined 3-for-5 from long range.
"Hey I'm 3-for-6 this year, 50 percent," Parakhouski said.
So Coach, how about the big man way outside like that?
"If he has an open shot and it's in the flow, I don't have a problem with it," Greenberg said. "He knows what a good one is. ... If it makes him happy to shoot one once in a while, it's all right. I want him to be happy."
There was some unhappiness right before the half when Parakhouski went down hard with 19.5 seconds left after turning an ankle. After minor rest and repairs off to the side of the home bleachers, he rejoined his teammates walking to their dressing quarters for the break. He returned after halftime to make the first bucket of the second half.
"Sore, you know, a little bit hurt my ankle, but I'm still fine. I finish game," he said. "It's cool."