High Point Tops Gardner-Webb, 65-51, Saturday Night In Post-Exam Tilt
December 16, 2006 | Men's Basketball
HIGH POINT, N.C. - High Point got 23 points from junior forward Arizona Reid, and pulled away for a 65-51 win over Gardner-Webb Saturday night in a non-conference tilt.
The Panthers (7-4) took advantage of 21 Gardner-Webb turnovers and saw the visiting Bulldogs fall victim to no fewer than three scoring droughts of six-plus minutes in the game to prevent any chance at a comeback.
Gardner-Webb (2-7) fell to 0-6 on the road this season, and struggled for much of the night finding an answer for Reid on defense - and finding any rhythm on offense. After scorching the nets at 68 percent in the second half of last week's comeback win over Western Carolina, GWU showed some rust after the week off for final exams, shooting just 39.6 percent overall and 24.0 percent from three-point range.
High Point outscored GWU 13-3 at the free throw line, going inside to the 6-foot-5 Reid often in the first 30 minutes - and saved its lone three-point makes for the final six minutes, putting the game out of reach with buckets from Troy Bowen, Eugene Harris and Mike Jefferson.
Early on, things looked brighter for the visitors. Gardner-Webb shook off the December blues first, staking itself to an 18-12 lead with just over nine minutes to play, but High Point had the last burst in the half, going on an 18-5 run from that point to lead 30-23 after a sloppy first 20 minutes (combined 21 turnovers) for both teams.
Reid was on fire in the first half, pushing his Panthers out front by hitting eight of the team's 12 field goals and 17 of the Panthers' 30 points. His three-point play in the lane over Samba Fall snapped a 20-20 tie and gave High Point a 23-20 edge with 5:34 left in the half.
Chris Gash cut the lead to one with a finger roll at the 3:44 mark, but Gardner-Webb would not hit another field goal in the first half, falling victim to the second barrage of High Point's surge that resulted in the seven-point halftime bulge.
Gardner-Webb hung around early in the second half despite the Panthers' continued efforts, and trailed by just nine with 12:02 left after a Wesley Mincey three-pointer from the left wing. That would be the Bulldogs' only bucket over the next six minutes, as High Point took advantage to steadily build what would bulge to a 17-point lead.
Point man Takayo Siddle led Gardner-Webb with 13 points, hitting 5-of-9 shots, but coughed up three turnovers with no assists. Thomas Sanders came off the bench to score seven points and pull down seven rebounds for GWU, while Gash and Samba Fall each had six points.
In addition to Reid's 23 points, Jefferson added 15 and Bowen had nine - as the trio accounted for 71 percent of High Point's total offensive production on the night.
Gardner-Webb has little time to rest, as the 'Dogs travel back to the Triad on Tuesday night to face ACC member Wake Forest at 7 pm ET in Winston-Salem. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3), with Fabian Fuentes providing the call from Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
| BOX SCORE: High Point 65, GWU 51 |
| Updated 2006 Season Stats (PDF) |
