Runnin' Bulldogs Fall To Paladins Tuesday Night, 75-64
November 13, 2013 | Men's Basketball
The Paladins (2-0) got a career-high 30 points from Croone and a career-best 18 from freshman reserve Gates in the two teams' first meeting since 2001.
Gardner-Webb (0-2) got a career-high 19 points and a double-double from Jerome Hill (10 rebounds) and 17 points from Tyler Strange - but could not find any shooting touch from the perimeter. Starting guard Naji Hibbert was not available Tuesday with an injury.
Leading scorer Donta Harper finished with 11 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, but was just 3-of-13 from the floor. Isaiah Ivey added nine points for Gardner-Webb, a new career-high in scoring for the Georgetown, Ky., sophomore. Strange also finished with six assists and a pair of steals.
Gardner-Webb finished just 3-of-16 from 3-point range, and missed 13 of its final 14 after starting the game off with two makes from distance by Ivey.
Furman jumped out to a 10-4 lead early, making its first three shots before Gardner-Webb responded with a 12-5 run to take a 16-15 edge on an Ivey 3-pointer. The Paladins would respond, leading by as many as 10 points, 37-27, in the opening half - before settling for a 37-29 advantage at halftime after shooting 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from deep.
Gardner-Webb quickly got back in the game out of the locker room, getting six points in an 11-5 run from point guard Tyler Strange to pull within 43-41 with 16:49 to play. Furman countered with a 7-0 run to seize momentum back from the Runnin' Bulldogs and - after GWU cut the lead to 50-45 on Jerome Hill layup - the Paladins took off on a 13-5 run to lead 63-50 with just 6:59 on the clock.
The Runnin' Bulldogs turned up the heat with full court pressure down by nine with just over four minutes left, and pulled within 65-58 on a layup from Strange and got another possession after a defensive stop with 3:24 left. An illegal screen call turned the ball back to Furman, however, and the Paladins got two free throws from Croone with 3:02 left to go back in front by nine, 67-58.
Gardner-Webb would not get any closer the rest of the way, as Croone knocked down a step back jumper for a 69-58 lead with just over two minutes left to effectively ice the game. Croone finished the game off at the free throw line, knocking down four free throws and another jumper in the final three minutes.
The Paladins shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 5-of-13 from long range and held a slight 40-35 edge on the glass. In addition to Croone and Gates, the Paladins got nine points from Larry Wideman. No other Furman player had more than six, although center Kendrec Ferrera had six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks - with all of his blocks coming in the second half.
Gardner-Webb shots 40.7 percent for the game (24-of-59), made 13-of-19 from the free throw line and outscored Furman 42-32 in the paint - but could not overcome the Paladins' edge on the perimeter.
Tuesday's game featured three ties and six lead changes.
Gardner-Webb will play its home opener on Saturday night, hosting Jacksonville at 7:30 in Paul Porter Arena. That contest will be available on the Big South Network (bigsouthsports.com) and WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org). Fabian Fuentes will call the action from courtside.
For ticket information call Gardner-Webb athletics at (704) 406-4340.
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