GWU Tops Anderson, 86-83, To Avoid New Year's Eve Upset Attempt
December 31, 2008 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Aaron Linn scored a career-high 31
points, and Gardner-Webb seemed to need every one as it overcame a
sluggish defensive effort to hold off Anderson (S.C.) 86-83
Wednesday night.
Gardner-Webb (5-7) seemed to have a tough time shaking off the rust
after an 11-day break for the Christmas holidays, particularly on
the defensive end. The Runnin' Bulldogs held just a 38-35 lead at
the break, and – after sprinting to a 46-37 lead with 17:13
left – found themselves down by four, 53-49, after Anderson
heated up from deep to spark a 16-3 run that Stephen Cobb capped
with a pair of free throws with 11:56 left.
Gardner-Webb tied the score moments later, but three pointers by
Nick Trull and Brandon Young gave the Trojans (3-6) a 59-55 edge
with 9:33 left.
The Runnin' Bulldogs regained their poise, however, and a layup by
Auryn MacMillan with 7:48 to go gave GWU a 62-61 lead it would not
relinquish. MacMillan had two buckets in a 17-5 spurt that put
Gardner-Webb in front 73-64 with 4:39 left. Gardner-Webb still held
a comfortable 77-69 lead with 1:52 on the clock after a Grayson
Flittner layup – but a quartet of circus shots from Brandon
Young in the final 49 seconds, including three shots from deep
– nearly gave Anderson a shot at the upset.
Young's fade-away from 23 feet with 9.6 seconds left made the score
84-83, but Flittner calmly stepped to the charity stripe for a pair
of free throws to push the margin back to three. Young tried to tie
the game with another of his wild launches, but was stripped
cleanly with 4.1 seconds left by Jonathan Moore, and Joshua Henley
grabbed the ball, raced the other way and ran out the clock.
Linn made 10-of-17 shots from the floor to pace an efficient
shooting night for Gardner-Webb, which hit at a 54.7 percent clip
as a team (29-of-53), and dished off 21 assists. That shooting and
passing helped overcome a sloppy effort in the turnover department,
as GWU coughed up 18 miscues – many unforced – in the
game.
Flittner finished with 17 points and six assists for Gardner-Webb,
which also got nine points, nine rebounds and seven blocks from
MacMillan, nine points and five boards from Henley and eight points
and five assists from Moore.
Cobb dropped in 27 points to pace Anderson, which shot 50.0 percent
for the game and made the most of several open looks from the
perimeter. The Trojans made 10-of-18 treys in the final half, and
hit 13 for the game. Young finished with 22 points for Anderson,
including 11 in the final minute of play. Kevis Cornwell added 13
points.
Gardner-Webb will have to shore up its defensive intensity before
the next outing, which features a visit from the nation's top
scoring team – VMI – on Saturday, January 3, in Paul
Porter Arena (7 pm ET). The Keydets (10-2, 2-0 Big South) enter
Saturday's game averaging a robust 99.3 points per game, and are
riding a seven-game win streak after knocking off Richmond at home
on Wednesday night. Twins Chavis (20.0 ppg) and Travis (18.9 ppg)
Holmes pace the Keydets offensively, which has a balanced six
players averaging at least 8.5 points per game individually.
| Box Score |
