BOILING SPRINGS --- Gardner-Webb placed three players in double figures and Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) dished out a career-high 14 assists, as the Runnin' Bulldogs closed the night on a 23-11 run to pick up a 79-67 Big South Conference win over Longwood on Thursday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
With the win, Gardner-Webb (13-7, 5-2 Big South) moves into a five-way tie for first in the conference standings alongside Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, High Point and UNC Asheville, with Winthrop and Radford sitting one game back at 4-3 in league play.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 49.2 percent from the floor on the night, including a 53.1 percent clip in the second half, while holding Longwood (6-15, 2-6 Big South) to a field goal percentage of 46.6 percent in the contest. Gardner-Webb won the battle on the glass by a 41-32 margin, converting 15 offensive boards into 10 second-chance points and outscoring Longwood, 44-32, in the paint.
Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting while pulling down eight rebounds and posting four assists. Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) added 15 and 13 points, respectively, as Nelson grabbed nine boards and shot 6-for-9 from the floor.
Strange established a new career-high with 14 assists on the night, and Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded a game-high five steals. Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) chipped in eight points and six boards off the bench.
Leron Fisher paced the Lancers with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a 5-for-8 night from long range, while Shaquille Johnson added 19 points with an 8-for-17 evening from the floor. Damarion Geter pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, as Fisher led Longwood with five assists and four steals.
Gardner-Webb came out firing, scoring the first nine points of the game to open an early 9-0 lead on a trey by Burbage at the 17:55 mark. Longwood would answer with a 23-14 run, evening the tally at 23-23 on a Fisher lay-in before the junior guard knocked down a three to give the Lancers their first lead of the night (26-25) with 7:05 to go in the half.
The Runnin' Bulldogs quickly responded, closing out the half with a 12-4 run to take a 37-30 lead into the break following a late bucket by Hill.
Longwood battled back in the early moments of the second half, trimming the margin to 44-42 on a Quincy Taylor trey before Johnson knotted the score at 44-44 with a pair of free throws at 15:23.
A 12-4 answering run by Gardner-Webb stretched the lead back to eight, with Ivey capping the spurt with a jumper at the 11:41 mark to put GWU up 56-48. The Lancers quickly countered with an 8-0 spurt of their own, evening the tally at 56-56 with 9:35 to play following a three-ball from Fisher.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would answer once again, scoring the next 10 points to take a 66-56 advantage on a pair of Hill freebies at the 4:19 mark. Hill and the Runnin' Bulldogs closed out the win from there, opening their largest lead of the night at 79-64 with 13 ticks left.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Saturday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Charleston, S.C. to take on Charleston Southern in a battle of first-place foes. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 pm.
