RADFORD, Va. – Defending Big South men’s basketball champion Radford tips off its 2009-10 regular season at the Dedmon Center on Friday night, when the Highlanders host Navy at 7 p.m.
Friday’s opener is Radford’s first time back on the Dedmon Center court since winning its second conference tournament title last March, a three-game sweep through the Big South field on the way to the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance.
GAME NOTES vs. NAVY
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Navy will visit Radford for the first time in just the second meeting between the two teams. The Midshipmen rallied in overtime to edge the Highlanders, 73-71, last November at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. Radford couldn’t hold off Navy despite
Amir Johnson’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) season-high 19 points, including eight in overtime.
The game was highlighted by 78 free throw attempts and 61 personal fouls in 45 minutes of action, including 25 makes by Navy.
Radford was tabbed as overwhelming favorites to repeat from national publications as well as the Big South media and coaches, which awarded the Highlanders 23 of 24 possible first place votes in the league’s preseason poll.
The Highlanders take the court with four starters returning from last year’s team, led by a pair of preseason All-Big South picks in seniors
Artsiom Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) and
Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax).
Parakhouski, the league’s preseason player of the year and an AP Honorable Mention All-America performer from a year ago, averaged 16.2 points and 11.2 rebounds on the way to piling up 17 double-doubles in 2008-09. The 6-11 center was ranked eighth nationally in rebounds per game and set the school’s new single-season rebounding standard with 369.
Lynch-Flohr, with his 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year, was the only frontcourt player in the Big South to hit better than 50 percent of his field goal attempts (.520) and 70 percent of his free throw opportunities (.721).
Johnson and
Phillip Martin (Roanoke, Va./Roanoke Catholic) make up the other half of Radford’s returning starters. Johnson, a four-year starter at the point guard spot, had 9.6 points per outing last year and led the Big South in assists with 5.2 per game. Martin helped Radford go 18-3 in games he started last year, and chipped in with four double-figure scoring efforts from the wing.
Navy, which went 19-11 last season and 8-6 in Patriot League play, returns three starters from a fast-paced offensive squad that led the Patriot League with 71 points per game. Senior guard Chris Harris is Navy’s top returning scorer with 15.4 points per outing, third-best in the Patriot League in 2008-09.
Following its season opener on Friday, the Highlanders host Lynchburg College on Tuesday night at the Dedmon Center at 7 p.m.