Runnin' Bulldogs Put Up Strong Effort, But Fall 66-60 To UNC Asheville
December 02, 2011 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS - Gardner-Webb led for the majority of the first 30 minutes Thursday night, but saw league favorite UNC Asheville take a 66-60 win in both teams' Big South opener.
Matt Dickey scored eight of his 13 points and J.P. Primm scored nine of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes - combining to make 11 free throws - to spark the comeback win for UNC Asheville (4-4, 1-0 Big South). Jaron Lane scored a team-high 15 points for the Bulldogs.
"This was a tough loss for us, but give credit to Asheville for fighting back and making the plays they needed to down the stretch," said GWU head coach Chris Holtmann. "We have to move past this. Another big game awaits us on Saturday, and I am hopeful our guys respond well in practice tomorrow as we get ready for a tough, physical Winthrop team."
The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-6, 0-1 Big South) used smothering man-to-man defense and the inside touch of Mike Byron to bolt to a 14-1 lead in the first eight minutes of the game, holding UNC Asheville (4-4, 1-0 Big South) without a field goal until Jaron Lane connected on a short jumper with 11:50 to play in the first half.
Byron scored eight points in the first eight minutes - all from close range - to spark Gardner-Webb's early advantage. The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder finished with 12 points in the first half to help GWU build a 26-21 edge at the break - the eight time in nine games that the Runnin' Bulldogs have either been tied or led at halftime.
UNC Asheville went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game on a Chris Stephenson jumper with 17:53 to play in the game, but Gardner-Webb would get the lead back just two minutes later on a pair of Kevin Hartley free throws. Asheville got four straight points to go back in front again on a dunk by Jeremy Atkinson with 14:36 to play, but Gardner-Webb got a three-pointer and layup from Jason Dawson to regain its in less than a minute.
Gardner-Webb would hold the lead until 6:51 remained in the game - when Atkinson connected on a pair of free throws to help along what would grow to a decisive, 19-7 run over a six-minute stretch that would give Asheville a 59-50 lead with 1:01 left in the game.
The Runnin' Bulldogs made just three of its 14 field goal attempts during the run, and Asheville made a high percentage of its free throw chances to build its cushion. Gardner-Webb hit a trio of three-point shots in the final minute to stay within striking distance - with Tashan Newsome's high arcing bomb from straight away cutting the lead to 63-60 with 24.6 seconds left. Dickey and Atkinson made three of four free throws in the closing seconds - and Gardner-Webb missed its final three shots - for the final margin.
GWU got a game-high 16 points from Byron, who added nine rebounds and has scored at least 16 points in three of the team's last four games. Dawson (11 points) and Hartley (10 points) each hit double figures as well. Newsome scored six points, dished off three assists and had 10 rebounds for the 'Dogs, who shot just 35.9 percent for the game (23-of-64) and 18.2 percent from long distance (6-of-33).
Asheville heated up to shoot an effective 52.4 percent in the second half (11-of-21) and shot 44.2 percent (19-of-43) for the game - although the hot-shooting Bulldogs were below their season average from three-point range (3-of-10, 30.0 percent). In addition to Lane, Dickey and Primm, Asheville got nine points and 12 rebounds from Chris Stephenson - and nine points, seven boards from Atkinson.
Gardner-Webb will host Winthrop on Saturday in Paul Porter Arena, with that game set for a 7 pm tip. Saturday's GWU-Winthrop tilt will be televised on MASN. UNC Asheville will step out of conference to host USC Upstate this weekend.
| Box Score (PDF) |
