GAME PREVIEW: Gardner-Webb To Host Toccoa Falls Friday Night
December 04, 2014 | Men's Basketball
GWU Game Notes | Gameday Central
The Game
Gardner-Webb hosts NCCAA member Toccoa Falls College on Friday, December 5 at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena. The game will air live on the Big South Network.
Series Notes
This marks the first meeting between Gardner-Webb and Toccoa Falls.
The Coaches
Gardner-Webb's Tim Craft is in his second season with the Runnin' Bulldogs, leading GWU to an 18-15 record last winter while being named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award.
Jason Mehl is in his third season at Toccoa Falls, leading the Screaming Eagles to a 31-31 overall record and a 6-4 mark this fall that includes five straight wins to start the campaign. The Screaming Eagles previously faced Big South foe Presbyterian on November 25, falling to the Blue Hose by a score of 63-40 in Clinton, S.C. Mehl owns 106-52 career record in eight seasons as a head coach.
Last Time Out
The No. 3/3 Arizona Wildcats survived a first-half scare and came out firing in the second half against Gardner-Webb Tuesday night, putting together a 30-4 run and knocking down over 60 percent of their attempts from the floor in the final 20 minutes en route to a 91-65 victory in the McKale Center.
Arizona (7-0) shot 56.2 percent from the floor on the night, including a blistering 64.5 percent (20-of-31) in the second half while holding Gardner-Webb (3-4) to a field goal percentage of 37.9 percent for the game. The Wildcats won the battle on the glass by a 43-27 margin, including a 12-6 advantage on the offensive boards, and outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 44-14 in the paint.
The Runnin' Bulldogs led for nearly the balance of the first half, leading by as many as four and holding an advantage for just under 10 minutes in the game. Gardner-Webb shot well in the second half, knocking down 44.4 percent of its attempts from the floor.
Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) and Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way for Gardner-Webb with 15 points each, as Strange knocked down 5-of-6 from downtown and dished out six assists. Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) added 13 points, six boards and a career-high six assists, moving within eight points of a tie for ninth on the program's Division I scoring list.
Nelson pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the Runnin' Bulldogs as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) poured in 10 points with a 4-for-7 night from the floor, including a pair of threes.
Looking at Toccoa Falls
Toccoa Falls is off to a 6-4 start to the season after opening the campaign with five straight wins. The Screaming Eagles traveled to nearby Presbyterian on November 25, falling to the Blue Hose by a score of 63-40 in their third loss of the season.
Josh Barrett leads the way for Toccoa Falls with an average of 22.0 points per contest through the first eight games of the season. Jon Sauls and Derek Westfall are close behind at 13.4 and 13.1 points per game, resepectively, with Zach Barrett leading the team on the glass with an average of 6.8 rebounds per game. Josh Barrett is averaging team-highs of 4.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
