GWU Men See Season Come To An End In A-Sun Semis
March 08, 2008 | Men's Basketball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Gardner-Webb saw its season come to a
close Friday night in the A-Sun semifinals, as Jacksonville ran to
an 89-80 win over the Runnin' Bulldogs.
GWU (16-16) endured a nightmarish first half, one that left the
squad in a 19-point hole that it would not be able to climb out of.
The ‘Dogs turned the ball over 10 times – which led
directly to 16 Jacksonville points in the first half – and
shot just 2-for-11 from downtown in the period.
If not for Thomas Sanders' 17 first-half points, Gardner-Webb would
have barely made it to double figures by the break – as
Jacksonville led 46-27 at intermission after Aryn Hardy sank a
35-foot heave at the buzzer, which followed an odd sequence of
plays that saw Jacksonville whistled for an intentional foul –
and a Gardner-Webb player whistled soon after for a phantom
technical. The strange exchange resulted in a 7-0 swing in favor of
the Dolphins after Hardy's miraculous toss just before the buzzer
sounded.
Gardner-Webb would have trouble getting any closer until the game's
late stages, as Jacksonville (18-12) continued to slice for easy
drives to the basket in the second half – expanding its lead
above 20 points midway through the final stanza.
Sanders, the league's Player of the Year, put forth a valiant
effort in defeat, hitting 12-of-20 shots for 29 points to lead all
scorers. Grayson Flittner added 15 points and A-Sun Freshman of the
Year Nate Blank had 13 to pace the ‘Dogs – who finished
with a 50.8 percent night from the floor (31-of-61), but were
outrebounded badly (40-23) by the Dolphins.
Point guard Ben Smith had 27 points to pace Jacksonville, which
shot 50.0 percent for the game and was an amazing 33-of-41 at the
free throw stripe. Smith made 13-of-17 himself, attempting just two
fewer than Gardner-Webb's entire team (10-of-19 for GWU). Lehmon
Colbert added 19 points and Marcus Allen had 17 for the
Dolphins.
Gardner-Webb advanced to the A-Sun semifinals for the third time in
four appearances at the league tournament – with 2008 being
the Bulldogs' final run before moving to the Big South Conference
next season.
The good news heading into next season is that Gardner-Webb will
return four of its starters, and all but one letterwinner from this
year's team – with guards Grayson Flittner and Aaron Linn,
along with gritty forward Nate Blank leading the way. That trio
averaged a combined 39 points per game this season and accounted
for 213 made three-point baskets – 78.8 percent of the team's
production from that distance.
NOTES
Gardner-Webb broke its team season record for three-point makes,
knocking down 269 in 32 games this season ... That number snapped a
10-year old mark (254) ... Grayson Flittner's 107 made
three-pointers tied the Atlantic Sun Conference's single-season
mark, which is also held by Campbell's Eric Smith (2005-2006).
