Gardner-Webb Fights Hard, But Falls 85-66 At #7 Duke
December 17, 2013 | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. - Jerome Hill sizzled for a career-high 22 points, but Gardner-Webb could not overcome a hot-shooting night by No. 7 Duke in an 85-66 loss Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (6-6) were hot themselves for much of the night, and made their first six field goals of the night to hang in with the Blue Devils (8-2) early. There were five ties and a pair of lead changes in the game's first six minutes.
"We started out well offensively. We played pretty good offensively the entire first half," said GWU head coach Tim Craft. "Unfortunately we couldn't get any stops on the other end.
"[Duke was] terrific on the offensive end. They hurt us in zone; they hurt us in man. We couldn't guard them, particularly for that first half. Second half, we were a little bit better. We defended a little bit better in the second half, but it just wasn't good enough to make it tight."
Duke led 17-16 with 13:27 left in the first half after a pair of Hill free throws and used Andre Dawkins' dead-eye shooting from long range to spark an 18-2 run that allowed some cushion. Gardner-Webb whittled the lead back to 12 points with six seconds left before halftime - but Rodney Hood dribbled length of the court for a layup to make the halftime score 53-39.
Gardner-Webb shot 62.5 percent in the opening half, but Duke was nearly as accurate - making 58.8 percent of their shots and knocking down seven 3-point baskets. A sizable edge on the offensive backboards favored the Blue Devils, who outscored Gardner-Webb 12-4 in second chance points for the half.
The Blue Devils extended their lead more slowly in the second half, as Gardner-Webb defended with more effectiveness in the final stanza. Duke did stretch its lead to as many as 23 points midway through the half, but Gardner-Webb continued to battle and trimmed the lead as close as 16 in the final two minutes - before six late free throws provided the final margin for the hosts.
Hill made 9-of-10 shots for Gardner-Webb Monday night, finished with nine rebounds and blocked two shots while going to work on the offensive end against highly rated forwards Jabari Parker and Hood.
Gardner-Webb finished at 54.4 percent for the game (27-of-50) and got double figures scoring to support Hill from Donta Harper (13 points), Tyler Strange (11 points, 5 assists) and Naji Hibbert (12 points).
Parker, considered an NBA lottery lock for next June's draft if he chooses to declare, finished with a team-high 21 points for Duke on 7-of-12 shooting and six free throws. Dawkins was the key, however, knocking down his first four shots in the first half to spark Duke's decisive run - and finishing with 18 points off the bench.
Quinn Cook added 16 points and nine assists and Hood scored 15 for the Blue Devils - who shot an even 50.0 percent for the game. Duke made 9-of-22 shots from 3-point range, and held a 37-22 edge on the glass (15 offensive rebounds were a season-high total). The Devils also made 20-of-28 free throws in the game, outscoring Gardner-Webb by 13 points at the charity stripe.
Gardner-Webb will play another power conference team on Thursday, taking on Georgia at 11:30 am in Athens. The game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3 / wgwg.org).
| BOX SCORE (PDF) |
