RADFORD -- As the curtain rose on the Brad Greenberg basketball coaching era at Radford University, Dedmon Center customers had worked themselves into such a state that they were seeing red.

"Dread the Red," proclaimed the slogan on hundreds of T-shirts Wednesday night as the new coach had his first home game as Highlanders coach. After the Highlanders worked over visiting Presbyterian on the way to a 68-54 victory, indications were that Radford might be more frightening to the opposition than previously believed.

"We showed people that we're a serious basketball team," point guard Amir Johnson said.

Although he remained businesslike throughout, there was no hiding that long-time basketball gypsy Greenberg was excited with his first head coaching victory.

"It's a cool feeling," he said. "I don't have enough coachspeak in me to say that it wasn't."

Coachspeak appears to be in short supply for a bench boss who references the Grateful Dead in postgame remarks. As for Greenberg's team, it was plenty lively, shooting 50 percent for the game, outrebounding the Blue Hose 25-21, and limiting its guests to 5-for-18 second-half shooting.

Big difference from a melancholy two-loss trip to the state of Michigan last weekend, the coach pointed out.

"What I saw more than a turnaround is statistics was a quantum leap in effort," he said.

Early in the game, it seemed the players were -- if anything -- trying too hard.

All bedecked in Radford red, a huge crowd of students who had been persuaded that their attendance might be conducive to team success had turned the usually-sedate Dedmon Center into a much more raucous venue than it had been in many a recent campaign.

Maybe all the attention caused the Highlanders to tighten up a bit to start the game, looking more like the nervous visiting team than the assured and confident host.

There was nothing jittery about the way the Blue Hose lobbed bombs over the Highlanders' zone, burying eight triples in 13 attempts in the first 20 minutes. The ensuing 57.9 overall shooting accuracy helped stake Presbyterian to a 33-29 intermission advantage.

"Sometimes you say, those long jumpers they can't keep making them, but they were making them enough that we said we have to try something else," said Greenberg, whose younger brother Seth, the Virginia Tech coach, was among the well-wishers in attendance.

Brad Greenberg turned to an unusual source for advice on defensive positioning.

"And we told him that we had to go man," Johnson said of the players' response.

Which was what happened as Radford (1-2) was climbing out of a 21-11 first half hole. Changing defense produced a 15-4 Highlanders run. Martell McDuffy's layin following a Johnson steal gave Radford a 26-24 lead, its first of the game, with 3:58 left in the half. The Blue Hose pulled together after that to regain a five-point cushion before Johnson's jumper with 49.8 seconds left provided the margin at the break.

McDuffy, one of three returning starters along with Johnson and Kenny Thomas, had a big night, scoring 21 points, one off his career high. McDuffy added five rebounds, tying him for the team lead with Joey Lynch-Flohr, who played a rugged low post during his 31 minutes. McDuffy went 8-for-11 at the foul line.

Greenberg was particularly pleased with the widespread contributions of the multitude. Twelve players saw action and nine scored.

Point guard Johnson was particularly brilliant with a game-high 10 assists balanced against only two turnovers to go with 11 points.

Walk-on Cole Wilder from Wytheville came off the bench for a pair of treys and eight points. Junior college transfer Jamar Jenkins also had eight points.

"A lot of guys had an impact on the game, which was great to see," Greenberg said.

PRESBYTERIAN (0-2)

Bostic 2-4 0-0 5, Allen 3-4 0-0 9, Coleman 1-5 5-8 7, Lamb 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 3-8 0-0 9, Bonner 2-4 0-0 5, Versinskas 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Kiscaden 3-5 0-0 9, Sligh 0-1 5-6 5. Totals 16-37 10-14 54.

RADFORD (1-2)

Ricks 1-1 2-2 4, Lynch-Flohr 2-5 0-0 4, McDuffy 5-9 8-11 21, Johnson 5-11 1-2 11, Thomas 2-5 0-0 6, McEachin 0-1 0-0 0, Gynes 0-0 0-0 0, Wilder 2-4 2-2 8, McFarlin 0-0 0-0 0, Jenkins 2-4 3-3 8, Martin 2-2 0-0 4, Hall 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-44 16-20 68.

Halftime--Presbyterian 33-29. 3-Point Goals--Presbyterian 12-24 (Allen 3-4, Kiscaden 3-5, Miller 3-7, Bonner 1-2, Bostic 1-2, Johnson 1-4), Radford 8-21 (McDuffy 3-6, Wilder 2-3, Thomas 2-5, Jenkins 1-3, McEachin 0-1, Johnson 0-3). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Presbyterian 21 (Coleman 5), Radford 25 (Lynch-Flohr, McDuffy 5). Assists--Presbyterian 14 (Lamb 4), Radford 14 (Johnson 10). Total Fouls--Presbyterian 18, Radford 15. A--2,600.