Wake Forest Sprints Past Gardner-Webb, 92-60, Tuesday Night
December 19, 2006 | Men's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM - Wake Forest used an 18-0 run midway through the first half to break things open, and sprinted to a 92-60 win over Gardner-Webb Tuesday night.
The Demon Deacons (6-4) snapped a four-game losing streak in the process, shooting a blistering 66.7 percent from the floor and holding Gardner-Webb (2-8) to a much cooler 36.5 percent in the process.
The Runnin' Bulldogs hung in with Wake in the early going, trailing just 14-12 with 11:29 to play in the first half, but a rash of poor shot selection, unforced errors on the offensive end and ensuing transition opportunities for the Deacons resulted in a 18-0 Wake Forest run over the next four-plus minutes, giving the home team a 32-12 lead with 7:00 remaining in the opening stanza - effectively putting the game out of reach.
The lead stood at 24 points, 47-23, at halftime, as the Deacons shot 63.0 percent (19-of-30) in that period, including bombing away at a 64-percent clip (7-of-11) from long distance. Gardner-Webb was ineffective for much of the half on offense, shooting just 32 percent (9-of-28) and turning the ball over 12 times.
The lead would grow to 30 points, 66-36, before Gardner-Webb could recover and the 'Dogs would not pull closer than 23 points the rest of the way.
Seniors Kyle Visser and Michael Drum were joined by freshman Anthony Gurley for a team-high 13 points to pace the Deacons. Gardner-Webb put five players in double figures, as Ricky McPhee (12 points), Thomas Sanders (11 points), Takayo Siddle (11 points), Jake Sims (10 points) and Chris Gash (10 points) spread out the Bulldog scoring.
Gardner-Webb will break for the Christmas holidays before returning to action on Wednesday, December 27, at No. 4 Wisconsin. That game will be broadcast live on WGWG-FM (88.3) at 8 pm ET from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisc.
| BOX SCORE: Wake Forest 92, GWU 90 |
