Tanner scores 24; Radford beats UNC Asheville 80-77 in OT (Dec 29, 2016)

By AP
Published

RADFORD, Va. (AP) Caleb Tanner scored 24 points, and Ed Polite Jr. made a key layup and blocked two shots in overtime to help Radford beat UNC Asheville 80-77 on Thursday night in a Big South Conference opener.

Alec Wnuk and Kevin Vannatta made consecutive layups as UNC Asheville jumped out to a 77-73 lead with 3:11 left in the extra period. Radford (6-7, 1-0) pulled to 77-76 before Polite blocked two layups then scored his own to give the Highlanders a 78-77 lead with 19 seconds to play. Tanner made a pair of free throws to seal it.

Tanner was 8 of 11 from the field and made six 3-pointers. Polite had nine points and eight rebounds.

Ahmad Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead UNC Asheville (8-6, 0-1). MaCio Teague and David Robertson also scored 14 points.

Robertson made a 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play to tie it at 73. Polite missed a layup and the put-back at the buzzer to force overtime.