Gardner-Webb Shows Determined Effort, But Falls 78-66 To UConn In the Garden
November 16, 2007 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK (AP) - Gardner-Webb couldn't match its magical moment
of a week ago, but the Runnin' Bulldogs from Boiling Springs
battled hard in a 78-66 loss to Connecticut at Madison Square
Garden Thursday night.
UConn's A.J. Price scored 18 points from his point guard spot,
keying several big runs for the Huskies as they took advantage of
seemingly every GWU mistake - transitioning into easy baskets.
Doug Wiggins added 13 points and Stanley Robinson 12 for the
Huskies (3-0).
Gritty little Gardner-Webb, national darlings after upsetting
Kentucky at Rupp Arena last week, couldn't replicate that stunning
performance against another college basketball blue blood. The
undersized, undermanned Runnin' Bulldogs (3-1) struggled to keep up
with the more athletic Huskies.
Aaron Linn hit a deep 3-pointer to get Gardner-Webb within nine a
couple minutes into the second half, but Connecticut responded with
an 11-2 run to get some breathing room. Three 3-pointers by Wiggins
in a span of less than 2 minutes put it out of reach.
Thomas Sanders scored a game-high 20 points and Grayson Flittner,
the hero of the Kentucky win, added 16 for the Runnin'
Bulldogs.
``I thought they killed us in the zone,'' Gardner-Webb coach Rick
Scruggs said. ``I thought they did a great job of adjusting and
really combating what we were trying to do to them.''
Scruggs said before the game he was worried about the wear that
came with his squad's 84-68 rout of Kentucky: the countless
television interviews, radio shows and pep rallies.
His instincts were right. The Bulldogs opened cold from the field,
struggled defensively and put UConn in the double-bonus with 12:26
to go in the first half.
But Connecticut, just like in its other games against Morgan State
and Buffalo, was unable to mount any sustained run to put it away
early. Gardner-Webb answered a 10-point spurt with nine of its own,
and a 15-3 run near the end of the first half with a 9-4 surge out
of the break.
``We didn't shoot well or control the boards,'' Scruggs said. ``I'm
upset we didn't play better tonight. We made some runs but so did
they.''
Foul trouble and weary legs finally set in, though, which could be
a troubling sign for Scruggs. His team, which had played two days
earlier not expecting to reach the Garden, still has a consolation
game Friday night. A game against Radford on Saturday will be the
Bulldogs' fourth in five days, and a previously scheduled trip to
UConn is on tap Tuesday (Nov. 20).
``I'd do it again in a heartbeat,'' Scruggs said. ``I asked Jim if
he was going to just let us ride back with them.''
Gardner-Webb will tangle with Big 12 power Oklahoma in the
consolation game at 6:30 pm ET. No official statistics were
available following the GWU-UConn game, due to a malfunction on
press row with the statistical computer.
