GWU Drops Game Against Oklahoma Friday Night, 69-55
November 16, 2007 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – Grayson Flittner scored 18 points, but
Gardner-Webb shot a frigid 27.9 percent from the floor Friday night
and fell, 69-55, to Oklahoma at the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic
in Madison Square Garden.
Gardner-Webb (3-2) trailed just 24-22 at the break, and battled the
taller Sooners (4-1) all evening. Poor shooting doomed the
‘Dogs, however, as Oklahoma slowly pushed its lead into double
figures midway through the second half.
GWU would have a final run in its tank, cutting a 13-point Oklahoma
lead to just four with 5:27 remaining in the game after a Nate
Blank jumper. The Sooners got a lucky break to regain momentum, as
forward Keith Clark clanged in a three-point basket that bounced
high off the rim before falling in – giving Oklahoma a 54-47
lead with 5:00 left.
The Sooners pounded the ball inside from that point on, pulling
away down the stretch by nailing 10 free throws and three inside
shots in the game's late stages.
Gardner-Webb hit just 19-of-68 shots in the game, and went to the
line only four times (three makes) against the more muscular
Sooners. Oklahoma shot 41.5 percent in the game, made 21-of-27 free
throws and outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-39.
Freshman and former McDonald's All-American Blake Griffin used his
6-foot-10, 240-pound frame well, posting a team-high 17 points.
Longar Longar, another 6-foot-10 forward added 16 points, and Tony
Crocker scored 11 off the bench to pace Jeff Capel's Sooners.
Flittner excited the Garden crowd by hitting several long treys,
and finished with six three-pointers on the night (6-of-13 from
beyond the arc). Takayo Siddle came off the bench to score 13
points on 4-of-7 shooting, and Blank added 13 as well with a strong
second-half effort.
Outside of Blank and Flittner, the other three Bulldog starters
combined to go just 3-of-25 from the field Friday night and
combined for just nine points.
Gardner-Webb will hit the road again Saturday, playing its fourth
game this week and third in three days. After flying out of Newark,
N.J., early Saturday morning, the Runnin' Bulldogs will pull into
Radford, Va., for a 7 pm ET tip against Radford University.
| Box Score |
