Polite's 16 & 12 help Radford hold off UNC Asheville 71-63

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) Ed Polite Jr. scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Radford to its sixth straight win, 71-63 over UNC Ashville on Saturday.

The Highlanders (13-6, 5-0 Big South) had a 61-45 lead with 7:22 left before the Bulldogs (2-17, 0-5) went on a 14-3 run. Polite end the surge with a 3-point play with 1:34 to go, pushing the lead back to 67-59. Caleb Tanner followed with a 3-pointer to get the spread back to double figures with less than a minute remaining.

Radford shot 51 percent but was only 12 of 21 from the foul line and had 16 turnovers.

DeVon Baker scored 26 points for Asheville, which has lost seven straight.

Radford took a 37-36 lead in the series.