Runnin' Bulldogs Roll Over South Carolina State, 87-57, Saturday Night
December 11, 2011 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Jason Dawson scored 15 points and dished off seven assists to lead four players in double figures as Gardner-Webb rolled over South Carolina State, 87-57, Saturday night.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (6-6) won their third game in a row in the process, shooting a sizzling 73.1 percent in the second half to build on a 36-21 halftime lead.
Stefon Johnson (13 points, 8 rebounds), Donta Harper (12 points) and Kevin Hartley (10 points) also netted double digits scoring for Gardner-Webb - and Tashan Newsome posted a strong floor game with six points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Harper's 12 points marked a new career-high for the freshman.
"Hats off to our guys tonight, particularly on the defensive end," said GWU head coach Chris Holtmann. "Collectively we were very good defensively tonight, and we saw several players make strong contributions on the offensive end. We have quite a few things we still need to improve on, but I was very pleased with tonight's effort and result."
Gardner-Webb limited South Carolina State to just 37.7 percent shooting and turned 19 turnovers by the visiting Bulldogs (4-6) into 26 points. Newsome and Harper helped blanket South Carolina State's leading scorer Brandon Riley - who netted just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting. Riley came into Saturday's game averaging 22.3 points per game.
GWU opened the game on a 23-9 run, before South Carolina State posted an 8-0 spurt to get within 23-17 on a free throw by Luka Radovic with 6:16 to play before intermission. The Runnin' Bulldogs responded with another run of their own, outscoring the visitors 11-2 to go up 34-19 with 2:21 left.
Khalif Toombs cut the lead to 34-21 with 1:54 left. Neither team would score again until Dawson drove to the cup for a layup with 1.4 seconds left for a 36-21 Gardner-Webb lead at halftime.
The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to apply pressure offensively as the second half began, scoring 17 points in the first 5:30 minutes to go up 53-29 on a Hartley three-pointer with 14:29 to play. The lead would dip below 20 points only once more - a 55-36 score at the 11:46 mark - and a three-pointer by Dawson on the next possession would push the margin over 20 points for the rest of the way.
Gardner-Webb shot 54.0 percent for the game, dishing off 24 assists on 34-of-63 shooting. GWU has 52 assists in its last two games. The 'Dogs dominated the paint scoring (46-28), had a 14-6 edge on fast break points and got 53 points off its bench. GWU also held a sizeable 42-29 edge on the glass.
South Carolina State never led in the game. The Bulldogs were led by Joe Ikhinmwin's 14 points off the bench. Toombs scored seven of his 13 points at the free throw line and Riley added nine. Omar Sanders scored five points and had six rebounds for SCSU.
Gardner-Webb will break for final exams before returning to action on Sunday, December 18, at Wake Forest. Opening tip in Winston-Salem, N.C., is set for 1:00 pm. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3), with Fabian Fuentes calling the action.
NOTES: Gardner-Webb held a successful Alumni Celebration Saturday, with more than 60 former players and coaches on campus. Nearly 30 suited up for an Alumni Game, with game MVP Thomas Turner ('92) leading the White team - coached by Hall of Famer George Adams - to a 112-100 win over the Red Team. All basketball alumni in attendance were recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.
| Box Score (PDF) |
