Late Push Lifts Gardner-Webb To Upset Of Clemson In Paradise Jam Opener
November 21, 2014 | Men's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, US Virgin Islands --- Senior point guard Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) recorded a double-double with season-highs of 18 points and 10 assists to lead Gardner-Webb to the program's first-ever win over an ACC opponent as the Runnin' Bulldogs upset Clemson, 72-70, in the opening game of the 15th annual Ezybonds Global Payments US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Friday.
Gardner-Webb (2-1) shot 37.3 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from downtown, while winning the battle on the glass by a 40-34 margin. Clemson (1-2) knocked down 49.1 percent of its field goal attempts on the afternoon, including an even 50 percent in the second half, as Gardner-Webb held the Tigers to a 4-for-13 clip from behind the arc.
Strange led the way for Gardner-Webb with 18 points and 10 assists, knocking down four three-pointers to move into fourth on the program's all-time list with 121 career treys. He was joined in double figures by four other Runnin' Bulldogs, as Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) added 12 points and Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.), Jarvis Davis (Columbia, S.C.) and Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) each scored 10 points.
Davis pulled down a team-high eight boards, all on the defensive end, while also picking up two of the team's four steals.
Damarcus Harrison led all scorers with 19 points for Clemson, connecting on 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, as Rod Hall and Landry Nnoko added 16 and 11 points, respectively. Jaron Blossomgame tallied eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Tigers while Nnoko blocked a contest-best four shots.
Clemson jumped out to an early 10-2 lead at the first media timeout, knocking down five of its first 10 baskets in the opening five minutes. The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back over the next three and a half minutes, trimming the margin to 15-12 with a 10-5 spurt that was capped by a trey from McBride at the 11:49 mark.
Gardner-Webb kept pushing, stretching the run to 21-6 to take a 30-21 lead following a mid-range bucket by Burbage and a deep three from McBride with 6:11 left on the clock.
The Tigers would answer with a 13-4 surge over the next five minutes, cutting the margin to 32-30 on a tough basket by Hall before knotting the score at 34-34 on a tip-in by Blossomgame with 58 ticks left. Hall then closed out the half with another tip-in for Clemson, beating the buzzer by less than one second to give the Tigers a 36-34 lead heading into the break.
Clemson opened the second half in much the same way as it did the first, scoring the period's first seven points to stretch the margin to 43-34 on a running jumper by Hall at the 17:56 mark. The Tigers would push the lead to 48-36, widening the gap to 12 on a tip-in by Grantham before Nelson trimmed it to 10 with an emphatic throw down.
Gardner-Webb fought back with an 11-7 spurt over the next four and a half minutes, closing the gap to 55-47 on back-to-back treys from Strange, the second of which coming in transition with 11:13 to play. The Runnin' Bulldogs would keep pushing, cutting the lead to two at 63-61 on a transition bucket by Burbage with 3:48 left on the clock.
After Clemson stretched the margin back to five at 68-63 Gardner-Webb responded with another spurt, closing the gap back to one with four clutch free throws from Strange. The senior point guard knocked down his most crucial shot moments later, tying the game at 70-70 with a three-pointer with just 6.6 seconds left.
Clemson then committed a critical error on the inbound, calling a timeout after the Tigers had previously exhausted their allotted breaks. The administrative technical sent the Runnin' Bulldogs to the line for two shots and Davis delivered for the second game in a row, converting both to give Gardner-Webb a 72-70 lead.
The Tigers pushed the tempo on the ensuing inbound, getting up the floor quickly and two shots that would not fall to hand the Runnin' Bulldogs one of their biggest wins in program history.
Gardner-Webb now advances to the semifinal round on Sunday, when the Runnin' Bulldogs will face the winner of Friday's Seton Hall/Nevada matchup at 7:00 pm Atlantic Time (6:00 pm Eastern Time) on the CBS Sports Network.
