Carlik Jones' three-point play with 24.5 seconds to play produced the winning points, and Radford made the plays it needed in the final minute to upset No. 17 Texas 62-59 on Friday in Austin, Texas.
Radford led 57-51 after a 3-pointer by Devin Hutchinson with 4:16 to play. Texas cut the deficit to three points on a three-point play by Matt Coleman III with 3:01 left that ended a six-plus minute scoreless stretch for the Longhorns, then tied the game at 57-57 on another three-point play, this one by Jericho Sims at the 2:31 mark.
Ed Polite Jr. then hit one of two from the charity stripe to put the Highlanders back up 58-57 with 2:11 to play. Sims threw down a dunk off a lob pass from Kerwin Roach II with 1:02 left to push Texas to a 59-58 advantage before Jones hit a jumper and a free throw to allow Radford to leapfrog into the lead.
Roach then missed a 3-point attempt with 11 seconds remaining, and Hutchinson hit a free throw for the final point. Jase Febres missed a 3-point shot with 3 seconds left as the Longhorns' last gasp.
It is Radford's first win in 18 tries against a ranked opponent.
Polite led the Highlanders (6-1) with 11 points, while Travis Fields Jr. and Mawdo Sallah hit for 10 points each for Radford.
Sims paced all scorers with 16 points for Texas (5-2), with Dylan Osetkowski scoring nine points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds.
The Longhorns led by as many as 12 points, at 24-12, on an Osetkowski layup with 10:30 to play in the first half. But Radford responded with a 17-1 run to take a 29-25 lead with a 3-pointer by Fields at the 5:34 mark.
Texas bounced back with a 9-0 surge and led 34-29 before the Highlanders drew back to within 34-33 at halftime.
Osetkowski led all scorers with nine first-half points, while Sallah paced Radford with six points in the first 20 minutes.
Texas heads back to the floor on Wednesday when it hosts Virginia Commonwealth in the second of a six-game homestand. Radford stays on the road with a contest on Tuesday at James Madison.
--Field Level Media
Radford | Texas | |
Ed Polite Jr. 11 | Scoring | Jericho Sims 16 |
Carlik Jones 4 | Assists | Kerwin Roach II 3 |
Devonnte Holland 8 | Rebounds | Dylan Osetkowski 17 |
Travis Fields Jr. 2 | Free Throws Made | Jericho Sims 4 |
Ed Polite Jr. 3 | Steals | Elijah Mitrou-Long 2 |
Ed Polite Jr. 1 | Blocks | Jaxson Hayes 3 |