Runnin' Bulldogs Roar To 61-41 Win Over Tennessee Tech Saturday Night
December 09, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Newsome made 8-of-12 shots, pulled down eight rebounds made several early buckets to set the tone for Gardner-Webb (6-5) early. Donta Harper added 11 points and three blocked shots and Jerome Hill pitched in six points off the bench and led the defensive effort by taking five charges.
Tennessee Tech (5-4) came into the game averaging 72.2 points per game, but ran into a defensive-minded Gardner-Webb squad that forced 15 turnovers and held the Golden Eagles to a frigid night from the floor (14-of-48, 29.2 percent).
All-OVC guard Jud Dillard (20.4 ppg) finished the game just 2-of-12 for seven points. Reserve Matt Marseille was the lone player for the Golden Eagles in double figures with 10 points.
"This is a good win for our program. I thought we were locked in the last two days and it was evident in how we played," said Gardner-Webb head coach Chris Holtmann. "Jerome Hill taking five charges? Wow, that was impressive. I've never heard of a kid taking that many charges in a game since I've been coaching. I'm really pleased overall, and happy for our kids to get a big win."
The Runnin' Bulldogs jumped out to a 30-14 lead with 5:49 left in the first half, but went scoreless over the next 5:47 as Tennessee Tech rallied with an 8-0 run that made the score 30-23 with seven seconds left. A Golden Eagles' miss was pulled down by the 'Dogs in the closing seconds, and Tyler Strange drained a baseline jumper with 1.8 seconds on the clock for a 32-23 lead at the break.
Tennessee Tech worked the lead down to six points, 35-29, with 15:35 left. Gardner-Webb responded with a jumper from Newsome and back-to-back layups from Hill to go up 41-29 with 12:48 to play.
Tech would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way and the Runnin' Bulldogs improved to 2-0 against teams from the OVC this season. GWU topped Austin Peay, 72-62, earlier this season in Cancun, Mexico.
Gardner-Webb shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22-of-51), made 12-of-15 free throws (80.0 percent) and out rebounded Tennessee Tech 37-30. GWU held a 14-4 edge in second-chance points, a 10-0 advantage in transition scoring and a 21-5 margin in points off of turnovers.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will break seven days for exams, returning to action to host The Citadel on Saturday, December 15, at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
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