RADFORD, VIRGINIA – As the saying goes, “Do not wake a sleeping giant.” The Navy men’s basketball team learned that the hard way Friday night.
Radford center and reigning Big South Player of the Year Art Parakhouski poured in 18 of his 20 points and grabbed 10 of his 13 rebounds in the second half to lead the Highlanders to a 76-65 come-from-behind win over the Midshipmen.
“We tried to do the same thing,” Radford coach Brad Greenberg said of the second half gameplan. “Just establish it inside, and just keep going to him.”
Parakhouski was limited to just eleven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. The senior attempted only two field goals in the opening period, registering two points and three rebounds. Parakhouski went to work the second time out of the locker room, playing the entire second half as Radford (1-0, 0-0 Big South) overcame a six point halftime deficit. The 6’11″ senior also was dealing with a groin injury that had kept him out of practice since Tuesday.
“The second half, I just told myself, ‘We need to win because they beat us last year,’” Parakhouski said. “So I played through the pain.”
With the score tied at 47 in the second half, Parakhouski scored seven straight points over the span of 1:33 to give Radford a 54-47 lead with 10:52 to play in the game. The big man finished off the spurt with a thunderous dunk on a fast break he started by deflecting a Navy (0-1, 0-0 Patriot League) pass to freshman teammate Blake Smith, sending the 2,765 fans in attendance at the Dedmon Center into a frenzy.
Still, Navy did not quit. The Midshipmen battled back and took the lead 63-62 with 3:31 to play when senior forward T.J. Topercer sank a free throw after he was fouled on a made putback. However, it did not take long for the Highlanders to jump in front for good when senior Philip Martin put back his own miss with 2:04 to go in the game to make it 64-63. Radford went on to score eleven consecutive points to put the game out of reach.
Parakhouski’s frontcourt mate, senior Joey Lynch-Flohr, scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in a team-high 38 minutes. It was the second game in a row that Parakhouski and Lynch-Flohr had both registered double-doubles, dating back to the team’s NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina.
Radford played without three players who figure to play a role on this year’s team. Binghamton transfer Lazar Trifunovic (fractured wrist), freshman Gorkem Sonmez (eligibility issues), and senior point guard Amir Johnson (undisclosed violation) all did not suit up for the Highlanders.
“No Laz (Trifunovic), who we were counting on from the beginning,” Greenberg said. “No Amir (Johnson), and Gorkem Sonmez, he’s going to play. He might be one of our top six or seven players. So (we were) minus three of maybe our top six talents.”
Freshman Evan Faulkner filled in for Johnson, logging 37 minutes for the Highlanders. Greenberg started another freshman at the shooting guard position, the Charlotte native Smith. In his first collegiate game, Smith scored 17 points and had 8 rebounds.
“I just came in to be a role player at first,” Smith said. “As the game went on, I got more comfortable.”
The Highlanders trailed 37-31 at the half. Radford shot 38% in the opening period and registered just three assists compared to nine turnovers.
Navy guard Chris Harris led the Midshipmen with 21 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Navy took its biggest lead of the game when sophomore guard Jordan Sugars tipped in a miss with five seconds left in the opening period before Smith hit a 55-footer to cut the lead to six as time expired.
Sean Bielawski
