GWU Rallies For 74-73 Overtime Win Over Western Carolina
December 09, 2006 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS - Antonio Russell's 12-footer with 2.3 seconds
left in overtime bounced off the rim, giving Gardner-Webb a rousing
74-73 comeback win over Western Carolina Saturday at Paul Porter
Arena.
Gardner-Webb (2-6) trailed by 17 points, 43-26, at halftime - but
rallied by nailing 7-of-11 three-point shots in the final 20
minutes, including a long three by Chris Gash with 26.3 seconds
left in regulation to tie the score, 69-69.
GWU took the lead for good on its first overtime possession, as
center Samba Fall followed a Gash miss late in the shot clock for a
71-69 edge. After a Catamount backcourt violation, Takayo Siddle
drained another long three-point shot with 3:49 left in overtime
for a five-point cushion, 74-69.
Western Carolina (4-3) got two free throws from Russell with 2:28
left to trim the lead to 74-71, and the Tampa, Fla., junior had a
chance to tie the game on a driving runner and foul with 1:36
remaining - but missed the accompanying free throw to leave GWU in
front. Gardner-Webb missed shots on its next two possessions to
give Western Carolina its final chance at the win, but Grayson
Flittner corralled Russell's final attempt at the buzzer sounded,
sending the crowd of nearly 3,000 into orbit.
The comeback was the second largest for GWU since rallying from
behind against Lipscomb last February 18 after trailing by 21 at
the break. Gardner-Webb has beaten Western Carolina in overtime two
years in a row, rallying for an 80-73 win in Cullowhee last
December 22.
Russell finished with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting,
and made more field goals in the second half (5-of-6) than the rest
of the Catamounts' team (3-of-14) in the second half.
Gash scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the second half,
hitting 6-of-8 shots in the final 20 minutes. Thomas Sanders (11
points, five rebounds) and Siddle (10 points) also had double
figure nights for GWU.
Gardner-Webb's lead in overtime was its first since it lead 6-4
early in the first half. After Samba Fall's free throw gave GWU
that 6-4 edge, Western Carolina rumbled on an 18-0 run to seize
control of the game, with Russell and running mate Kyle Greathouse
providing most of the offense.
The Catamounts' lead grew to 21 points, 36-15, with 5:09 left
before intermission, before the hosts finally got the margin below
20 points again with a Flittner three-pointer with 13 seconds
remaining in the half.
Western Carolina shot a sizzling 58.6 percent in the opening stanza
to take its big lead, while Gardner-Webb limped to just 11-of-31
shooting (35.5 percent).
A 4-0 run out of the locker room got Gardner-Webb back into
contention, not to mention a quick wake-up for the rowdy home
crowd. Western Carolina responded to push its lead back to 17
points, 47-30, on shots from Russell and Nick Aldridge, but
back-to-back threes from Gash and Siddle cut the margin to 13
points, 49-36, with 16:13 left.
A layup from Siddle and threes from Flittner and Jake Sims capped a
14-2 spurt by Gardner-Webb, trimming Western's lead to just 49-44
with 14:16 left. The Catamounts' started to pull away briefly,
pushing the lead back to 10 points, 59-49, with 9:45 left on a
three-point play by Aldridge, but two-straight turnovers and tough
shots from Gash and Sanders keyed a 7-0 run that pulled GWU to
within 59-56 with 7:28 to play.
Russell, who played the final 7:28 - and five overtime minutes -
with four fouls, gave the visitors a 62-56 lead on a dunk with 5:04
to play, but that would be as large as the Catamounts could push
their lead - as Ricky McPhee came alive to drain a pair of
three-pointers with under four minutes to play, the second cutting
the Cats' lead to 64-62 with 3:35 left.
Four-straight free throws by Russell pushed the lead back to six
with 2:16 remaining (68-62), but Gash and Sims connected on
four-straight charity shots for Gardner-Webb to stay within
striking distance.
Aldridge had a chance to ice the game at the stripe with 35.2
seconds left, but missed one of two free throws to leave the door
open. After a Bulldog timeout with 31.6 seconds left for head coach
Rick Scruggs to draw up a play, Gash rolled open from 22-feet near
the top of the key and drained the long ball to tie the score at
69-69, leaving Western Carolina less than 26 seconds to regain its
composure.
With the decibel level at a fever pitch in Porter Arena, Eric
Wilson missed a shot at the buzzer to send the game to
overtime.
Gardner-Webb shot a season-best 68.2 percent in the second half to
mount its comeback, overcoming a frigid night at the free throw
line (7-of-18 for the game, 38.9 percent). Western Carolina cooled
to just 40 percent in the last 20 minutes of regulation, hitting
just eight field goals (20 attempts).
GWU, which improved to 3-0 in its last three overtime games (two
last season), will break for final exams over the next seven days,
before returning to face High Point on the road next Saturday (Dec.
16) at 7 pm ET.
| GAME BOX: GWU 74, Western Carolina 73 |
| Updated Season Stats (PDF) |
