Balanced Attack Lifts Gardner-Webb Over Thomas (Ga.), 82-66
December 06, 2014 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS --- Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) each recorded a double-double, and Jarvis Davis (Columbia, S.C.) added 14 points to lead Gardner-Webb to a 82-66 win over Thomas University (Ga.) in non-conference play on Saturday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
Gardner-Webb (5-4) shot 46 percent from the floor on the night, including a 47 percent clip in the first half, while limiting Thomas (9-1) to a field goal percentage of 40.7 percent in the contest. The Runnin' Bulldogs won the battle on the glass by a 46-30 margin, including a 16-10 advantage on the offensive glass, while converting those 16 offensive boards into 17 second-chance points.
Nelson led the way for Gardner-Webb with 18 points and 11 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the season as Hill added his third with 17 points and a game-high 12 boards. Davis chipped in 14 points with a perfect 8-for-8 night at the free throw line as Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) and Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) dished out nine and seven assists, respectively.
Alan Love paced Thomas with a game-high 19 points, knocking down 8-of-12 from the field as Adonai Rogers and Max Grace added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Andrea Robinson grabbed a team-high eight boards for the Nighthawks.
Gardner-Webb never trailed on the night, leading for 39:48 in the contest as Hill scored eight of the Runnin' Bulldogs' first 11 points to give his team an 11-2 advantage at the 16:54 mark. The Runnin' Bulldogs pushed the margin to 10 at 16-6 and would lead by double digits from there, stretching the advantage to as many as 22 in the first half on a three-point play by Hill with 6:12 left on the clock.
Thomas would cut the lead to 40-26 before Gardner-Webb responded, closing out the half with a 5-2 spurt to carry a 45-28 advantage into the intermission. Gardner-Webb kept pushing the tempo in the second half, opening its largest margin of the game with a three-pointer by Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) that gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a 65-42 advantage with 12:24 to play.
The Runnin' Bulldogs never looked back, shutting down a late run by the Nighthawks and pushing the lead to 21 on a corner trey by Adam Sweeney (Madison, Ohio) at the 1:09 mark to cap the night's scoring.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court next Saturday, December 13 when the Runnin' Bulldogs host regional rival Furman at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
