Radford beats Charleston Southern 64-61 for 6th straight win

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Carlik Jones had 15 points and three assists, two steals and a blocked shot to help Radford hold off Charleston Southern 64-61 on Tuesday night for its sixth straight victory.

Jones, the Big South freshman of the week three weeks running, connected on 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Caleb Tanner came off the bench to hit 3 of 5 from distance and score 13 for the Highlanders (11-6, 4-0), who were picked to finish seventh in the preseason but are now the lone unbeaten team in conference play. Ed Polite Jr. added nine points and eight rebounds, but he hit just 1 of 7 from the floor and had his streak of 20-point games snapped at four.

Phlandrous Fleming Jr. led the Buccaneers (6-9, 1-3) with 17 points, while Christian Keeling chipped in with 14 points and four steals. Charleston Southern, who average a conference-best 12.8 offensive rebounds per game, grabbed 12 against the Highlanders but it led to just a 5-4 advantage in second-chance points.

The Buccaneers trailed the whole second half until Keeling's layup put them up 58-57 with 2:51 left. But Tanner hit all four of his free throws in the final 14 seconds to preserve the victory.