GWU Runs Past High Point, 86-71, Tuesday Night In Return Home
November 28, 2007 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Grayson Flittner scored 20 points
to pace a group of five players in double figures for Gardner-Webb,
and the Runnin' Bulldogs handled preseason Big South Conference
favorite High Point, 86-71, Tuesday night.
Gardner-Webb (5-4) is in its final season of play in the Atlantic
Sun Conference, but will move to the Big South in 2008-2009.
Flittner had 17 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, as
the Runnin' Bulldogs built a 46-35 lead. The Sharpsville, Ind.,
native nailed a trey to open the second half scoring – giving
Gardner-Webb a 49-35 advantage, but High Point (2-3) answered with
an 8-3 run to trim the GWU edge to just six, 52-46, with 16:53 to
go in the game – and cut a 12-point lead back to six on a Tim
Burns' three-point shot with 12:40 left to play.
Gardner-Webb went on a quick 5-0 spurt itself, keyed by a pair of
Takayo Siddle buckets, and High Point would get no closer than nine
points the rest of the way. GWU would open as large as an 18-point
lead with 3:03 left, and controlled the game on both ends of the
court.
High Point's final lead came with 8:16 to play in the first half,
which point guard Aaron Linn erased with a long three at the 7:50
mark of the first half. Flittner scored 11 of his 17 first-half
points in the half's last seven minutes – including three free
throws after a shooting foul with no time on the clock.
Gardner-Webb shot a strong 16-of-27 in the first half (59.3
percent), and matched that mark exactly in the final 20 minutes
(16-of-27, 59.3 percent). GWU was magnificently efficient on the
offensive end, hitting 8-of-13 three-pointers (61.5 percent),
dishing off assists on 24 of 32 baskets and turning the ball over
just 12 times. The ‘Dogs scored 52 of their 86 points in the
painted area – and topped the Panthers 18-9 in fast break
points.
In addition to Flittner's 20-point effort, GWU got 15 points and 10
boards from Thomas Sanders (his seventh double-double in nine
games), 14 points off the bench from Siddle, 11 points, four
rebounds and three assists off the bench from Matt French –
and a strong 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists from its
cerebral point guard, Aaron Linn.
High Point got 29 points and nine boards (six offensive) from
preseason Big South Player of the Year Arizona Reid (Gaffney,
S.C.), who hit 13 of the Panthers' 26 offensive baskets himself.
Burns added 10 points off the bench and point guard Mike Jefferson
just missed a double-double with nine points and nine assists.
The Panthers shot 42.6 percent for the game, but struggled from the
perimeter (7-of-25 from three / 28.0 percent).
Gardner-Webb will face another Big South Conference team on Monday,
as it remains home to take on Radford at 7 pm ET on December 3.
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