Congrats to Winthrop

Alas, my alma mater Radford Univresity (Radford, Va) fell to the Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC) tonight by a 61-46 margin at the Big South Tournament held at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC.

Winthrop is the alma mater of my mom and my cousin Mike.

But, I still wanted RU to win!

I want to also congratulate RU on another good year on the court. We will certainly star center Art Parakhouski from Belarus, but I hope the senior gets selected high in the NBA draft.

UPDATE (SATURDAY): Amazingly enough, Winthrop won the Big South Tournament todya by upsetting the host Coastal Carolina.........!

RU Faces Winthrop This PM

There is a big game today my alma mater Radford University (Radford, Va.) and my cousin Mike's alma mater Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC). The two teams will face off in Radford at 4 p.m. in a regionally televised game on MASN.

The RU Highlanders have won their last two home games thanks to Art Parakhouski (pictured here). They defeated Presbyterian University 75-58 earlier in the week, which included a 10-point effort from one of my favorite players Gorkem Sonmez (my dad came from Sonmez's native Turkey) and last Saturday the Highlanders defeated the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in a game that was a part of Bracket-Busters weekend.

In the the UNCW game, Parakhouski scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He has 23double-doubles, which leads the NCAA. Laz Trifunoic scored 19, and Blake Smith added 15 for the Highlanders in their 76-68 win over the Seahawks.

Winthrop has lost two of their last three games, including a 77-57 setback in Richmond, Ky., in their own Bracket Busters game with Eastern Kentucky. Matt Morgan scored 18 points for the Eagles in a losing cause.

In their home win over UNC-Asheville, Cahrles Corbin scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Eagles in a 68-65 overtime victory on Senior Night.

The Eagles also lost to High Point on the road this week, so today's game is crucial for both teams as they head into the Big South Tournament which starts on March 2.

Locally, the UNC-Greensboro Spartans prepare for their final home game before The Southern Conference Tourney when they face Georgia Southern on Monday night.

The Spartans lost to Davidson this week, but a week ago they were able to beat The Citadel on the road in Charleston, SC, by a 59-53 score thanks to 19 points from Ben Stywall and 18 points from Mikko Koivisto.

Parakhouski was recently named Big South Player of the Week for a fourth time this season.


UPDATE: We won the game 54-52, and Parakhouski got yet another double-double!

UPDATE TWO: Radford is actually replaying Winthrop today (Thurs., March 4th) in Conway, SC, on the campus of Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. The game is scheduled for broadcast on ESPN-U. We will try to have the results posted on this blog.

Radford University Loses Heart-Breaker to Coastal Carolina

During a home game in Radford, Va., just prior to Valentine's Day on Saturday night, my alma mater The Radford University Highlanders dropped a heart-breaking game to visiting Coastal Carolina by a score of 52-51.

The game was decided by a last second free-throw from Coastal's freshman Danny Niemans from Concord, NC.

RU trailed by 16 at the half, but the Highlanders went on a 17-3 spurt to start the second half. According to the RU men's basketball web site, the home team trimmed the lead to 40-38 with 11:39 left in the game.

The win puts Coastal Carolina, a school in Conway, SC, (near Myrtle Beach) with a commanding two game lead in the Big South Conference.

For the visiting Chanticleers (which to me has always seemed like a very unusual school nickname), Mario Edwards lead the way with 13 points. Chad Gray added 12 points to the team's total.

There were some positive things for the Highlanders though, including the fact that guard Amir Johnson of Pittsburgh, Pa., broke the conference assist total with 568.

The Highlanders actually took the lead for the first time in the game at 50-49 with 1:46 remaining thanks to a dunk by standout center Art Parakhouski of Belarus (pictured here).

RU coach Brad Greenberg said he was pleased with the team's efforts in spite of the loss:

"I'm extremely proud of our team. We had an extraordinary second half, holding one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country to just three field goals."

Parakhouski lead RU in scoring with 16 points. Laz Trifunoivc of Serbia added 13 points for the Highlanders.

RU will next head to hostile Lynchburg, Va., for a game with conference arch rival Liberty University on Tuesday night in a game that will be televised regionally on MASN starting at 7 p.m.

The Highlanders also have a home game against UNC-Wilmington during ESPN's Bracket Busters on Sat., Feb. 20, which is also when the school will be hosting its rescheduled Homecoming Weekend.

Coastal Carolina next heads to Durham, NC, for a non-conference game with North Carolina Central. The team's next home game is against conference foe Charleston Southern in a game that will also be played on Feb. 20.

The Big South Tournament starts at various locations on March 2.