Runnin' Bulldogs Drop Big South Opener, 66-64, At High Point Thursday
December 03, 2010 | Men's Basketball
HIGH POINT, N.C. - David Brown's three-pointer with 3.8 seconds
left rimmed out, as Gardner-Webb dropped its Big South Conference
opener at High Point, 66-64, Thursday night.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-4, 0-1 Big South) trailed by as many as 16
points in the first half, but closed the opening stanza on a 12-4
run to cut the lead to just eight points by intermission.
GWU came out of the locker room with a defensive mindset, slowing
down the game and holding High Point (3-3, 1-0 Big South) to just
one field goal through the first 10 minutes to storm in front by
four points.
The second half proved to be a see-saw affair, with six lead
changes and five ties - and neither team taking a lead of more than
three points in the final four minutes. GWU tied the game, 63-63,
on a pair of Jon Moore free throws with 2:58 left, and neither team
would score again until High Point's Shay Shine drained a contested
17-footer with 1:31 to break the tie.
GWU missed a chance to tie on the other end, as Luke Davis' layup
was off the mark under pressure - but the 'Dogs got a golden
opportunity when Stefon Johnson picked up a steal near midcourt
with 44 seconds left. Johnson was fouled, but missed both free
throws and a chance to tie. The 6-foot-6 sophomore hustled for the
loose-ball rebound on his second miss and was fouled again - and
made one of the two chance to pull GWU within 65-64 with 41.9
seconds left.
High Point made just one of two free throws on the other end with
34.9 seconds remaining, and Gardner-Webb had a golden chance to tie
or take the lead on the next possession. A timeout got Brown a look
at the basket, but his trey was just off the mark and the Panthers
grabbed the board.
Two missed free throws gave Gardner-Webb another chance, but Laron
Buggs' desperation heave from 40 feet fell off the mark as well at
the buzzer.
The loss snapped a two-game win streak for Gardner-Webb, which got
a career-high 20 points from Johnson. Perimeter shooting was
problematic for the 'Dogs Thursday night, with an 0-for-15 night
from three-point range proving too much to overcome.
The 'Dogs shot 40.0 percent from the floor overall (21-of-53), but
held a considerable 42-30 edge on the glass and made 22 free throws
(22-of-34). Moore finished with 13 points and Laron Buggs had nine
for Gardner-Webb.
High Point got 16 points from Nick Barbour and 15 apiece from
Tehran Cox and Shine - turning 19 Gardner-Webb turnovers into 23
points. The Panthers shot 44.0 percent for the game and made
3-of-10 shots from deep.
Gardner-Webb remains on the road for its next test, traveling to
Radford Saturday for a 7:00 pm contest against the Highlanders.
High Point will host Asheville on Saturday.
| BOX SCORE (PDF) |
