GWU Men Drop Third Straight With 80-69 Loss At Charleston Southern
December 15, 2007 | Men's Basketball
N. CHARLESTON, S.C. – Gardner-Webb dropped its third
decision in a row Saturday night, as Charleston Southern rallied to
take an 80-69 win in CSU Field House.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-7) have dropped seven of nine games since
its sizzling 3-0 start to the season, and saw Charleston Southern
(5-5) go on a 24-11 run to rally from seven points down in the
second half.
The Bucs got 22 points from senior guard Chris Moore – 16 in
the second half – and hit 11 three-pointers as a team to top
the ‘Dogs.
Gardner-Webb led 31-30 at the break, closing out the half on a 16-6
run after seeing the hosts catch fire early from three-point range.
Nate Blank came off the bench to spark Gardner-Webb's run in the
opening half, and finished with 10 of his 14 points at the break.
His three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining in the first half gave
GWU its lead.
The ‘Dogs opened the second half with a three from Grayson
Flittner, but saw Charleston Southern burst back to tie the game,
38-38, moments later. GWU answered with a 7-0 run to lead 45-38
with 15:05 left – forcing Charleston Southern to take a
timeout to ease the damage.
The Bucs came out on fire, making a 5-0 run of their own, and
turned that into a decisive 24-11 run that doomed the visitors.
Gardner-Webb's last lead came with 10:19 to play, when Thomas
Sanders converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 54-53
edge – but saw Charleston Southern get a runner from Jemarco
Warren and a long three from Moore to go up 58-54 with 8:38
left.
GWU did keep it close, and trailed by only four with 1:58 to play
on a deep three-point bucket by Linn. Takayo Siddle missed a wide
open chance to trim the lead further on GWU's next possession,
however, and Charleston Southern put the game away at the free
throw stripe.
Linn finished with 22 points to lead Gardner-Webb, hitting his
first eight shots and finishing 8-of-9 from the floor. Blank had 14
points as the only other Bulldog in double figures. Both Sanders
(4-of-15, nine points, 11 rebounds) and Flittner (3-for-11, nine
points) had tough nights shooting for the Bulldogs.
Freshman Omar Carter had 19 for the Bucs, and Shelton Carter came
back from a three-game suspension to post 16 points, 13 rebounds
off the bench for Charleston Southern.
GWU had a better night overall shooting the basketball than
Charleston Southern, but saw the hosts corral 14 offensive rebounds
and make more free throws (19) than the Bulldogs attempted (17).
GWU shot just 52 percent from the charity stripe on the night
(9-of-17).
Gardner-Webb will play next Saturday against nearby Charlotte of
the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Runnin' Bulldogs and 49ers will tip
off at 2 pm ET in Halton Arena. Fabian Fuentes and Jim Johnson will
provide the call from courtside.
