Second Half Rally Gives Lipscomb 66-62 Win Over Gardner-Webb Wednesday Night
November 15, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Gardner-Webb (1-2) led 36-29 at the break, then used a 10-1 run to open the second half to take a 46-30 lead with 16:37 left on a layup by Corey Hensley.
Lipscomb (2-1) mounted its rally moments later, going on a 20-0 run over a span of 5:32 to go up 50-46 with 11:05 left on the game clock. Forward Malcolm Smith and 6-foot-10, 285-pound center Stephen Hurt combined for 13 of the Bison's points in the rally.
Gardner-Webb recovered over the next three minutes to retake the lead, 53-50, on a three-pointer by Kevin Hartley and a steal and fast break bucket by Donta Harper with 9:29 left - but a three by Carter Sanderson stemmed the tide. The Runnin' Bulldogs would stretch its lead back to five points, 60-55, on a Max Landis trey a the 5:58 mark, but Smith scored six in a row for the Bison to regain the edge for Lipscomb with 3:53 to play.
The two teams traded leads once more, but Martin Smith gave the visitors the lead for good on a layup with 2:51 to play that made the score 63-62. Gardner-Webb would miss its next four shots from the floor and a pair of field goals - but still had a chance to tie or take the lead with 18.4 seconds left after a Lipscomb turnover.
The 'Dogs were unable to get a shot off, as Deonte Alexander was able to pick up a steal with 11.3 seconds left. His two free throws after a foul provided the final margin.
Harper (14 points) and Landis (13 points) led Gardner-Webb offensively. Corey Hensley and Onzie Branch each had nine for the Runnin' Bulldogs, who played without starting center Mike Byron and saw preseason All-Conference guard Tashan Newsome play just two minutes due to an injury early in the game.
The 'Dogs shot 36.1 percent from the floor (22-of-61) and made just 2-of-17 from long range (11.8 percent). After hitting an impressive 12-of-13 free throws in the first half (92.3 percent), Gardner-Webb made just 4-of-11 in the final period.
Lipscomb took advantage of Byron's absence in the middle, going inside with Malcolm Smith (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Hurt (12 points, 5 rebounds) to take an 18-8 edge in second-chance points. The Bison held a 44-29 edge on the backboards, which helped overcome a rash of turnovers that helped Gardner-Webb post a 20-8 edge on the fast break and score 23 points off of those miscues.
Martin Smith added nine points for Lipscomb, which shot 49.0 percent for the game (25-of-51) and made 5-of-12 shots from three-point land (41.7 percent).
Gardner-Webb will have little time to rest, as the 'Dogs catch a flight Thursday morning to Chicago for a Thursday night game at Big East member DePaul as part of the 2012 Cancun Challenge. The Runnin' Bulldogs and Blue Demons will tip at 8:30 pm.
Thursday's game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org).
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