BOILING SPRINGS --- Junior Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) set a new career-high with 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting, and Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) dished out a season-high 12 assists to lead Gardner-Webb to a 78-63 victory over NCAA Division II Brevard College on Saturday afternoon in Paul Porter Arena.
Gardner-Webb (3-3) shot 54.4 percent from the floor, including a 59.3 percent clip in the second half, while holding Brevard to a field goal percentage of 41.4 percent in the contest. The Tornados outrebounded the Runnin' Bulldogs by a 37-35 margin, including a 15-11 advantage on the offensive boards, while Gardner-Webb recorded 20 assists on 31 field goals.
Hill led all scorers with a career-high 32 points, knocking down 13-of-18 from the floor while pulling down a contest-best eight rebounds. Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) added 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Strange dished out a game- and season-high 12 assists.
Jarvis Davis (Columbia, S.C.) and Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) each chipped in eight points as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded a game- and career-high four steals.
Trevon Shaw paced the Tornados with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting as he and Darius Moose each pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Moose chipped in 17 points with an 8-for-13 afternoon from the floor, while Alex Moe dished out five assists.
Gardner-Webb opened the afternoon with a 15-9 run, answering a quick Brevard trey with 15 of the next 21 points to open a six-point lead following a throw down from Hill at the 15:15 mark. The Runnin' Bulldogs would push the margin to 12 over the next eight minutes, stretching the advantage to 30-18 on a nifty give-and-go inside by Hill and Nelson with 7:11 left on the clock.
Brevard closed the gap to 35-27 with a Shaw trey before Gardner-Webb responded, finishing the half on a 7-4 run to take a 42-31 lead into the break following a last-second tip-in by Moose.
After Shaw converted a three-point play to open the second half, Gardner-Webb quickly countered with a 10-2 run to push the margin to 52-36 on back-to-back buckets by Hill with 14:58 to go. The Runnin' Bulldogs would close out the win from there, maintaining the double-double digit margin for the remainder of the contest and pushing the lead to as many as 20 in the waning minutes.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Tuesday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Tucson, Arizona to take on national power University of Arizona at 7:00 pm Mountain Time. The game will air live on the PAC-12 Network.
