The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team defeated Radford, 76-73, on Friday after a dynamic second-half comeback.

GS was led by senior forward Isaiah Crawley’s 17 points and eight rebounds and a career-high 16 point performance from sophomore guard Elijah McCadden.

The Eagles had a sloppy first half, which saw the team only shooting 46 percent from the paint. Radford held the lead for 18 minutes and rallied behind redshirt-junior Carlik Jones’ 18 points. Last season, he was named to the First-Team All-Big South due to his conference-leading statistics.

Redshirt-senior forward Simeon Carter returned from his temporary suspension and put up four points, while guards Calvin Wishart and Ike Smith contributed 11 and 12 points, respectively. 

Radford capitalized off of several moments of GS offensive confusion, as the Eagles struggled to find a rhythm in the first period. The scoreboard favored the Highlanders by six at the break.

After halftime, the team came out more aggressive and mobile. They immediately took the lead thanks to a clutch three pointer from Wishart, which brought the crowd to their feet. Senior guard David-Lee Jones’ shot in the third quarter, with about 13 minutes left, put GS on top for the first time since the first two minutes of the game and the momentum in Hanner Fieldhouse shifted. 

GS never gave up the lead again, but both teams were playing with more momentum in the second half. The Eagles improved their shooting to about 53 percent but still struggled from the three point line overall.

With this victory, GS improves to 2-2 overall. The team will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Mercer.

Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu