Radford, Va. -- The Mount Aloysius Men's Basketball team opened up the 2020-21 season, with an impromptu date with Division I opponent, Radford University. While the Mounties played their first contest of the season, the Highlanders were tipping it up for the 25th time this season. After a strong first half, the Mounties ran out of gas, falling 74-51.

Leaders
- Junior Carlos Palacio (Bilbao, Spain, Phelps School), led the Mounties with 13 points and five rebounds. He scored the first seven points of the game for Mount Aloysius, leading them in their strong first half.
- Wesley Ayers (Independence, VA) finished the game with 12 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the three-point arc. Three of his baskets came in the first half, where he got great looks out of the Mountie offense.
- Senior Azim Hutson (Orlando, FL, Ocoee) produced a strong line with a team-leading, three assists, and 11 points on 4-7 shooting.

How It Happened
- Radford came out of the gate strong, opening up a 15-4 lead in the first five-plus minutes. During the start, the Mounties only made one of their first seven shots.
- The Highlanders held their biggest lead of the half, 21-7, with 12:03 to go. Over the final 12 minutes of the half, the Mounties went on a 26-12 advantage, to head into the half tied.
- During the strong stretch, Ayers contributed three, three-point field goals, and Palacio added one of his own.
- Hutson single-handedly cut the Radford lead from six points (32-26) to one, when he scored on back-to-back possessions. The first basket came on from an acrobatic, and-one, finish, and the second came on a contested step-back jumper, sandwiched around a free throw.
- Both teams would trade baskets to start the second half, with Mount Aloysius holding a slight advantage, 36-34. Radford would go on to score eight straight points, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
- The Mounties were out-scored in the second half, 41-18. They made six second half baskets, four of which were three point field goals.

Into the Box Score
- Both teams shot over 50% from the field, in the first half. Mount Aloysius held an advantage from distance, where they were 4-10, compared to Radford's 1-6 effort.
- In the second half, Radford again performed at better than 50% from the field, while Mount Aloysius struggled to 26% shooting.
- The Highlanders held a +20 rebounding advantage for the game, including a 13-rebound performance on the offensive glass. Radford had a significant size advantage on paper, heading into the contest.
- Another advantage for Radford came at the free throw line. The Highlanders went 14-24 from the stripe, attempting 18 in the second half. Mount Aloysius was only 5-8 for the game, at the line.

The game at Radford was the first game against Division I competition for Mount Aloysius, since their game against Robert Morris, back on November 14, 2018. The Mounties are scheduled to take on Mary Baldwin, Saturday at 12 PM, in an exhibition game, for their next contest.