James River would hit 11-of-13 foul shots in the final three minutes to pull away with a 64-56 victory over Radford in the championship game of the Region C, Division 2 boys basketball tournament Monday night at Pulaski County High School in Dublin.

Radford now plays Lebanon, the Region D champion, in the state quarterfinals at 6:30 Saturday night at Virginia High in Bristol, while James River plays Honaker, the Region D runner-up, at 8:30 p.m. Friday night at the Salem Civic Center.

The Bobcats (17-6) opened up the game with a Jerome Alexander 3-pointer from the top of the key would start a 12-3 run, in which Timmy Worles would also hit from outside the arc at the 3:30 mark. When the quarter ended, Radford held a 16-12 advantage.

The Knights (25-2) would knot the game at 16-16 on a pair of free throws by Andrew Tucker at the 7:09 mark. A Dontae Carter 3-pointer would give Radford a slim 26-25 lead with 2:43 on the clock.However, James River would close out the quarter with a 6-0 spurt to take a 31-26 halftime lead.

The Bobcats would claw their way back in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Josh Smith would give the Cats a 36-34 advantage with 4:10 on the clock. Both teams would then trade baskets before a pair of Jerome Alexander free throws would give Radford a 40-38 lead with 2:20 left in the quarter. Unfortunately, for Radford, that would be the last time they would lead, as Jordan Talbott's three-pointer would put James River in front for good, 41-40, with 1:48 showing. When the period ended, the Knights held a 45-42 advantage.

Radford would stay within striking distance throughout the fourth quarter. A basket by Jerome Alexander with 5:23 remaining pulled the Bobcats to within one, 47-46. The Knights would the pull back out to a 51-46 advantage before Carter hit a pair of foul shots to pull Radford back to within three, 51-48, with 3:32 left. That would be as close as the Bobcats would get the rest of the way, as the Knights would score 11 of their next 13 points from the charity stripe.

For the game, Radford was called for 20 fouls, compared to 11 for James River. The Knights connected on 19-of-30 shots from the foul line and 21 shots from the floor. The Bobcats were 8-of-10 at the stripe and hit 22 shots from the floor.

Jerome Alexander led Radford with 17 points. Dontae Carter tossed in 14 points and D.J. Palmer added 11 points.

Andrew Tucker led a balanced James River scoring attack with 18 points. Patrick Bennett contributed 16 points, while John Bennett and Jordan Talbott finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Click here to see additional photos from this game in our Photo Gallery.

Photo: James River's Ethan Humphries (#22) attempts to drive on Radford's D.J. Palmer (#22) during Monday night's Region C, Division 2 championship game. (Photo by David Grimes)