William Fleming was looking for the start of a new winning streak.
The most obvious way to get it going wasn’t necessarily against the 18-1 Radford Bobcats.
One night removed from getting bounced around by ” Big-11 ” frontrunner Lord Botetourt in a 20-point loss that ended the Colonels 13-game winning streak, Fleming answered all the bells with the 62-59 win in the Saturday nightcap of the Roy Stanley Memorial Shootout at the Salem Civic Center.
Fleming, which ended its early-season 4-game losing streak by winning the K-Guard Holiday Classic in Salem, again found the Civic Center hardwood to its liking.
“I told our guys those things happen,” Fleming head coach Mickey Hardy noted of the loss to Botetourt less than 24 hours earlier. “It happens in the NBA; it happens in college. Sometimes you play a game that you didn’t play. That’s what happened last night (at Botetourt). We didn’t play. We stepped up to the plate and hit a home run tonight. “
The game was one of scoring runs. Fleming went on a 9-0 surge in the first quarter to hold a 13-11 lead after the opening frame. The Colonels’ ball movement gave Radford trouble, and an 11-3 run to start the second quarter staked Fleming to a double-digit lead that reached 12 points before the teams went to the halftime break with the Colonels on top 35-23.
The Colonel lead reached 14 points early in the third quarter before Radford began its comeback that closed the gap to 46-45 late in the frame. Fleming headed to the final 8 minutes ahead 48-45.
Radford knotted things at 55 with 4:18 left in the game when Bobcat guard Isiah Phillips was fouled on a shot from behind the arc and promptly sank all three free throws.
Fleming’s Steven Jones, who had scored the Colonels last 5 points at that point, put his team on his shoulders and finished with the final 7 Fleming points of the game. After Radford had taken a 57-55 lead, Jones scored an old-fashion 3-point play to return the 58-57 edge to the Colonels. Bobcat Nate Jones, who had a game-high 21 points for Radford, followed with a layup to put the Bobcats up 59-58 before Steven Jones closed out the scoring starting with a basket that gave Fleming the 60-59 lead.
Radford turned the ball over with 8.3 seconds left and Jones hit a pair of free throws to secure the final margin. A desperation heave by Radford at the buzzer was well off the mark.
“Radford is a heck of a ball club.” Hardy added. “Both teams played in spurts and runs. We had to go to a zone at the end and luckily we got the final run. The Salem Civic Enter has been good to us.”
Steven Jones led Fleming with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Warren Craft added 11 points for the Colonels, while Tyrell Adams and Todd Crowder each chipped in 8 points.
Phillips complimented Nate Jones’ 21 points by scoring 13 for the Bobcats.
– Bill Turner